It's My Life
by Tatertotrocks
Summary: Max & Fang have been worst enemies for all of high school this far- but why? Southern Cross Charter High is a school where everybody knows everybody, plus their business. Max likes her normal life, but what if it turns out to be not-so-normal? Join Max and the gang for a classic high school adventure filled with pheromones, estrogen, and the epitome of misunderstandings. Complete!
1. My Story

**Heyo, this is my first MR fanfic. Just sat down yesterday and started writing. Let me know what you think. Good enough to keep writing? I do have some ideas for the storyline and such. Character planning is pretty far too...RnR please:)**

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life _

_Chapter 1_

_My Story_

They say there's a beginning to every story, but that doesn't necessarily mean that a story starts there. Take my story for example, I _could _start at the beginning, but honestly that would take too much work, and I'm just trying to put it out there- no matter the order. I guess I should start with an introduction though:

My name is Maximum Ride.

I have dirty blondish hair (somewhere around there).

Brown eyes.

A kick-butt attitude- if I do say so myself.

I'm seventeen, but I am commonly taken for any age between thirteen and twenty one, which can be good or bad depending on the situation (obviously).

I go to Southern Cross Charter High, which is _not _a private school. It's public, but all the outsiders thinks it's a private school just because we have a dress code, stricter rules, and above average intelligence. By 'we' I am of course referring to most of the students here- there's always those idiot kids whose purpose in life you are constantly questioning. All-around, life is good. I have some friends, some enemies (okay, a lot of enemies- who knew people held grudges so bad over spit milk?…More on that later), okay grades (mostly B's and C's, one or two A's), a perfectly normal home life, and a job at the local music store here in Onidah, Oregon. I'm on the Varsity track team, working for a scholarship, but since it's fall right now I'm also a participating member of our school's soccer team- new this year.

Anyway, that's enough about me- well actually this whole story is about me, but you get the point.

* * *

I'm walking down the hallway to math class when it hits me- that ray of light they say comes at opportune moments to lead you on a better path…It takes a moment for me to realize it's just my best friend Nudge signaling me from her locker across the hall with her compact mirror, right next to the east windows (thus, the beam of light). I roll my eyes and head over to her, raising an eyebrow as she appears to go into ninja stealth mode, a.k.a, using her open locker door as a cover while glancing around suspiciously.

"What's up?" I ask.

"Shhh," she shushes me, looking around again, then beckons me closer. I step forward a half an inch, and she seems to understand that's all she's getting. She leans forward with a hand cupped over one side of her mouth to whisper to me.

"Can you check me?" She asks. I give her a half-grin and nod slightly. She shuts her locker door and tries to nonchalantly walk away from me a few steps. I give a small glance before catching up to her and affirming, "You're all good."

In case you're wondering what the heck that was about (which if you're not, you're either psychic or a paranoid female), those are our code words for when we aren't confident that our 'sanitary napkins' have done their job completely. We came up with them in the sixth grade when we both started our periods.

'Can you check me,' as in, is anything _showing, _and 'You're good,' meaning exactly what it says.

Yep. You didn't think I was going to mention the workings of the female torture system? Well, you thought wrong. They play a very big part in this story; okay, not really big, but I _am _a female, and therefore am affected.

Nudge and I continue on to Calculus together, with her back to her normal carefree self. It's the second day of Senior year, but it feels the same as the last three years of high school here. Same people, same teachers, same blue carpeted floors (yep, we charters get the nice stuff). I glance at Nudge next to me, who has began to hum some One Direction song (I think).

Her dark dark brown hair is in a side braid, a head band with a little poof of hair in front accessorizing the look. Simple heart shaped diamond studded earrings adorn her ears, with a matching bracelet on her left wrist. Only the bare-minimum of makeup can be seen on her face (not sure if it's because she's not wearing very much, or she's just really good at applying it), which I am grateful for since I can't stand those girls who think of foundation like a second layer of skin. Her mocha-colored skin is set off nicely by the white collared blouse she wears with matching khaki pleated skirt to her knees and a thick pink belt around her waist. Matching pink flats pull the whole look together (at least that's what she says, I only know the basics in fashionista-ism, which I usually choose to ignore anyways).

That's the prettier side of the leeway we get with our dress code. I'd say I'm somewhere in the middle, with a turquoise collared shirt that is comfortably baggy but still shows off my toned figure- the schools emblem stitched on one side of the chest in dark blue and gold- navy capri's, and some tennis shoes. I usually keep my hair in a pony-tail. Like today, today is a 'usually' kind of day.

Nudge is talking next to me about some 'Sloan'-kid (seriously, what kind of name is that? Then again…I guess I'm one to talk…) as we enter the classroom. A seating chart has been set up on a projector screen towards the front of the room, since yesterday was mostly orientation for classes. _Of course_ the teacher just _had _to put everyone in alphabetical order, so Nudge is somewhere in the middle row while I'm stuck in the back next to Fang/Nick Walker. Just my luck that no one else in our class possesses a last name with any of the four letters between ours. That jerk's been a pain in my butt since freshman year, and now I'm stuck sitting next to him for the entire first semester. It's bad enough that I have _four_ out of seven of my classes with him already (small school), and if this is an omen of how the rest of my day is gonna be, then this probably isn't the only class I'll have to sit next to him in.

_Flashback- Freshman year- September_

_My friends Tess, Nudge, and I walked outside during lunch time. On the west side of the school are two fields- one is larger and serves as an outside P.E. area, and the other is smaller and inverted. Whenever it rains (which it does a lot here in Oregon), the smaller field fills with water, creating a shallow swamp effect. Freshman boys, being what they are, can't help but mess with things like that._

_ As we walk by the fields, we see that their immaturity has indeed lead them to this point. When we were younger Nick went by his middle name, Fang, but suddenly wanted to change it back to Nick come freshman year. Whatever. He'll always be Fang to me. By this point in our high school lives, our rivalry was set well in motion. _

_ I watch as Fang and his friends Iggy (James), Rachet (Richard) and Holden initiate the new kid Dylan into their group. Somehow they've convinced Dylan to give them one of his converse sneakers, which Iggy promptly takes and drop-kicks into the pond. I glance at Nudge and Tess beside me, to see that their expressions are as incredulous as mine._

_ "Man, what jerks," I say to them, referring to the guys, and they nod silently. The boys in question begin walking towards the doors to the school, which incidentally are behind my friends and I. The bell will probably ring soon, signaling the end of lunch hour. A few other groups head in the same direction, and as Fang and his buddies pass us, I can't help but call out:_

_"Man, you guys are jerks. I can't believe you constitute that as friendship," I say, gesturing to Dylan and his now- sopping wet shoe. I am addressing Iggy as I say this, but Fang chooses to butt-in, much to my chagrin. I've been trying to ignore him._

_ "I can't believe you _have _any friends," he says, sneering. I notice now that the people who were river-ing around us have stopped and are watching the spectacle._

_"Excuse me, do I know you?" I ask Fang innocently._

_"Yeah," says Iggy, "He's the guy you were in love with last year." Iggy seems proud of himself for recalling this- sadly- well known fact._

_ "Oh yeah," I start, as if recalling it myself, "You're right. I did like a guy in eighth grade who's name was Fang and looked kind of like _him_, but he was _way _nicer. I don't who this '_Nick'_ guy is." I shrug nonchalantly and promptly turn on my heel, heading inside right as the bell rings. It's not until later that Tess and Nudge inform me of how everyone else stood there shocked, and Fang began to exclaim, "Bi-"_

_When Tess looked him down and give him a warning _"Nick_" before he could insult my retreating back. Everyone started to turn away and head inside as well, but Nudge heard Fang finish under his breath with a "hatch."_

_ One of our first arguments. And the first very public one. From then on everyone had a pretty good idea of how we both stood on matters of our past._

_End flashback._

You would think his jerk-ness would make him unpopular, but as it goes, he's only that way to me, _plus_ his mom is our principal. That fact alone was what set off the fuse that burned between us when high school started, but more on _that _later as well.

Our math teacher, Mrs. Bentley (only math teacher at our school), comes into the classroom right after the bell rings, followed by a very _red_- headed woman who looks to be in her very _early _twenties.

"As you all know," starts Mrs. Bentley, "I teach a class every hour due to the fact that our school is very small and I am the only math teacher. Principal Walker was kind enough to except a TA to teach the Calculus class here at Southern Cross. This is Brigid Dwyer, Miss Dwyer to you, and she will be teaching you all this semester while I catch up on some much-needed paper work time. I see you've already sat in your seats from the seating chart that Miss Dwyer made, so I'll leave you to it."

With that she leaves that classroom, and we are faced with a widely smiling TA whose green eyes flash as she turns to greet us.

"Hello, class. My names Brigid Dwyer and I'm here to teach you Calculus," she says.

"Well, obviously," I mutter under my breath. Out of my peripheral I can see Fang roll his eyes and shake his had at my comment, saying "Obviously" quietly in a valley girl voice. Mocking me. I want to tell him to stuff it, but realize that would be a waste of breath as he already has a gigantic pole shoved up his butt and therefore there is no room for anything else.

"I thought I'd start with a review test, since I'm new to you and am not completely sure of what you learned last year in Preliminary Calculus and Trigonometry," she starts passing out some papers I didn't see in her arms before. I have just gotten my paper when Lissa Lancaster walks through the door. Great.

"Sorry I'm late," she says with an apologetic smile, "I had to go to the office to get my classes changed."

"Oh, hello," Miss _Brigid_ Dwyer says, smiling back at her, "I'm your teacher for this semester, Miss Dwyer". They have the same straight red hair, except Lissa's are adorned with front bangs as well, and hers is more red, rather than orangish like our TA.

"Just give me your name and I'll put it on the roster," she says.

"Melissa Lancaster, L-A-N-C-A-S-T-E-R," says Lissa. Suddenly I see her spot Fang and smile, then she see's me occupying the seat next to him and her smile diminishes a bit.

Lissa and I don't necessarily dislike each other, but she's one of the many reasons I broke off communication with Fang. They were together for a while after that, but he eventually broke up with her when he realized "they had no chemistry"-as she claimed- but they remained friends. I can't help but have a suspicion that she still likes him. It's not like I care, but sometimes she can be annoying when she's always vying for his attention and I'm caught in the middle, like right now; the only open seat is the one in front of me.

Once when I was running for secretary freshman year, I went to get the grade form signed by my English teacher, only to find that Lissa was there and running for secretary as well. As soon as the teacher turned her back to sign our permission slips, Lissa blew a raspberry at me and raised her eyebrows in some sort of challenge. Anyways, that was right after my falling out with Fang, when I was least popular and Lissa was his girlfriend. Needless to say, I lost that election. But whatever, I don't even remember why I wanted to be secretary in the first place.

As expected, Lissa takes the seat in front of mine, and for the rest of class I struggle to pay attention to my review test while Lissa and Fang exchange glances and a few whispered words. When the bell rings, I practically jump out of my chair, exclaiming, "_Finally_," and rushing out the door, towing an amused Nudge behind me.

* * *

"I can't believe you sit next to Nick in three classes," says Tess at lunch time.

"Ugh, I know. At least it's all over before lunch time. Up-chucking is not my favorite hobby," I answer, and she raises an eyebrow.

"You know, cause his face makes me want to…" I trail off, knowing my explanation won't make sense to her.

"Oh my gosh! Dylan's headed this way!" Says Nudge excitedly.

"Nudge, you see him everyday. He's been your next door neighbor for three years," I inform her, but her attention is already elsewhere.

"Hey Dylan!" She says, smiling as he stops in front of our table, brown paper lunch bag in hand. I busy myself eating the crust off my swiss and salami sandwich, not wanting to participate in the gawking of the 'amazing Dylan.' Despite me always trying to convince Nudge that Fang's player-ness had rubbed off on him, she continued to insist she was in love. I swear he just has list of all the girls in school he's checking off as conquests. I, of course, am not one of them, but now I worry my lucky solo streak is coming to an end when Dylan turns from Nudge to me, grinning.

"Hey Max," he says.

"Yep," I answer, mouth full of sandwich. I have no need to impress this guy.

"Is this seat taken?" He asks, gesturing to the one across from me and next to Tess.

"Actually-" I start, but Nudge cuts me off.

"You can sit there," she says, smiling eagerly. As he takes his seat, I look at Nudge and mouth 'Sam?' She just shrugs and turns to Dylan. Next to me, my sister Ella turns over and see's my partly mutilated sandwich. She's a sophomore.

"Eww, Max. You know Mom says not to play with your food," she teases me, I grin back.

"It's just so fun, I can't help myself," I say, making my signature 'little kid face' as Mom and Ella dubbed it.

"That's a cute face," says Dylan, and I realize he was watching our sisterly display.

"Uh, okay," I say, "Thanks?" He just grins at me. What a creep.

"Why are you sitting with us anyways?" I ask bluntly.

"Max!" Nudge gasps, but is cut off by Dylan's answer.

"I wanted to be near you," he says, feigning hurt.

I inwardly groan when I notice Nudges furrowed brow. She did _not _like the sound of that. Well, neither did I, for that matter.

"Okay, well that's really special and all, but we hardly know each other. So…you just sound really stalker-ish when you say that." Not to mention you're making my best friend want to murder me. If he's planning to make me his next conquest, let me tell you, that is _not_ going to happen. Although there was that one time I kind of sort of liked him during sophomore year, but let's face it- bounce back crushes don't count for much.

Dylan chuckles and replies, "Come on, we can all at least agree that this place could use a little excitement. I'm just trying to get to know the go-to girl for fun."

I stare at him, thoroughly confused at what he has just implied.

"What the heck?" I say, when I decide to be offended.

"Well," he says, "I was just talking to Nick about how bored I was, and he mentioned that you were a good way to pass the time."

I stare at him, eye's narrowed and mouth partly- open.

"Now I can see he was right," Dylan continues, "those expressions you make are priceless."

"Well," I huff, after regaining my snarky composure. You wanna play Walker? WE CAN FREAKING PLAY.

"Obviously I was more than that if he cared to mention me three years after I dropped him," I say smoothly, picking up my mutilated sandwich and tossing it in the trash before standing and heading out of the cafeteria.


	2. So the Drama

**Heyo, here I am again! Thanks for the good feed back guest and xxsmileyme123xx**

**It encouraged me to write another chapter! Tell me what you think, RnR. **

**This chapter is longer, and ends on a little bit of a different note than the last one.**

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 2: So the Drama_

"Okay, if I'm Frodo, you can be Sam," I say to Nudge as I drive her and myself to school.

"No no no…._Max," _she insists, "We have to be something cool for Halloween. So people will actually know what we are?"

"People know Lord of the Rings," I protest, "Lord of the Rings is cool."

"Max….." she practically whines. Okay, maybe Frodo and Sam isn't the best costume idea for two girls…it may or may not have been the first thing that popped into my mind.

"I knew I shouldn't have asked for your idea," continues Nudge.

"Well what do you think we should be?" I counter.

She sits up straight in the passenger seat with a gleam in her eye. I vaguely wonder if I should be afraid.

"Listen to this," she says, as if I'm not already listening, "You could be Cinderella, and I could be Tiana from Princess and the Frog!"

I nearly choke on my Caramel Hot chocolate from Dutch Bros, "Wha-what?" I sputter, "Princess's?"

Nudge rolls her eyes at me, "Yes, Max, _Princess's_."

"There is no way in heck that I am going to the Halloween Dance as a Princess. No way Jose`." Just a little fun fact for ya, our school doesn't have Homecoming or Prom or Snow Ball or whatever like normal high schools. We have Holiday themed ones. Halloween, New Years, Valentines Day, and Senior Ball, for Seniors (surprise surprise).

"Come on Max," she pleads, "it would be awesome, and you could look really pretty."

For some reason unbeknownst to mankind, Nudge thinks that she can get me into a big, sparkly, poofy _Princess_ dress.

"I don't know what gives you the idea that I would ever let you squish me into a big, sparkly, poofy _Princess_ dress," I say, voicing my thoughts, "I would rather eat dog crap." By now we have pulled into the school parking lot, and I park my silver subaru outback as she replies, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"That's gross, Max," she says.

"So is a Princess dress," I reply.

I watch Nudge huff in frustration as I turn off the ignition and pull out my keys.

"We still have almost two months anyways. I'm sure we'll figure something out," I reassure her. But I most definitely am _not_ going as a Princess.

We walk inside the school about fifteen minutes before first hour starts. I see Sam by his locker and Nudge and I go to talk to him. Sam is more of my friend than Nudge's, but you know what they say, my friend's friend is my friend…or something like that.

"Hey Sam, where you yesterday?" I ask him as we approach, "You left your seat wide open for poacher Dylan to swoop in and harass me for Fang." Eh, that's basically the truth.

Sam turns to me, "Sorry about that," he says, "I had to get my schedule changed. Apparently they switched mine and someone else's on accident. What did Dylan want?"

"To be near me, apparently," hint- if someone uses the word 'apparently' it usually denotes that the rest of the sentence is complete garbage or lies. That is the case here as well, according to _moi_. How stupid does Dylan think I am?

Sam get's this weird look on his face that I've never seen before-which is saying a lot since we've known each other since sixth grade. Must have indigestion or something.

"Did he ask you out?" He asks. I laugh and he looks incredulous. I briefly consider offering him some aspirin or something, but then realize that I don't have any anyways.

"No!" Next to me, Nudge almost shouts, catching the attention of some of the people at their lockers around us.

"Uh…what she said," I say, "I would've said no and kicked him in between his knees if he did though."

"Well well, this sounds like an interesting conversation," I hear a _very _familiar voice say from behind me. I shut my eyes for a second before turning around to face Fang.

"Eavesdrop much, _Fang_?" I ask quickly. Standing on either side of him is Rachet and Kate, two of his posse` members. Rachet's real name is Richard, and Kate is one of those tough girls who everyone (even me) respects. I choose to ignore them both as I engage in a petty argument with my arch foe.

" 'What she said' and 'In between the knees,'" he says, flipping his hair with a slight forehead movement while using air quotes, "didn't take you for the pervert type, _Maxine."_

I ignore his obvious insult at my name and address his accusation in my choice of words, "Really? That's all you heard? Sounds like _you're_ the one with the dirty mind, Fang. Although, unlike you, I'm not surprised."

"Hey," he says, holding his hands up in a shoulder shrug, "I'm just pointing out the obvious." He then shoves his hands into his black pants' pocket, forearms flexin- not that I freaking notice.

"Whatever, you just want to harass me *_osel prikladom," _I say, finding that any thing I call him in english will get me sent to see his mom.

"Ohhh Spanish, I'm so scared," he says sarcastically. I snort. Just then the bell rings, and I realize Sam and Nudge are no longer with me. Traitors (okay not really, my run-ins with Fang have been happening practically everyday for the past three years so it's probably pretty old to them now). I also see Kate and Rachet walking down the hallway away from us over Fang's shoulder.

"Well, not that I don't _love_ talking with you, but the five minute bell just rang and I don't want to receive and invitation to see your mom," I take a step back (since when did we get so close?) and pick my back pack off the floor with my right hand before turning around. I start to walk away.

"Oh, and," I say to him over my shoulder, "That was Russian, not Spanish, *_zaderzhka._"

On Friday, we our monthly fire drill, and everyone is giving thanks to whatever religious dignitary they believe in since, for once, it's not raining. Except for me- even though I absolutely _hate_ the rain, as soon as I saw that Fang had ridden his motorcycle to school, I prayed for hard, stinging, ice chunks to fall from the sky.

While the rest of us are bored out of our minds standing in line on the sidewalk, Fang and his gang (hah, get it? Fang's gang? Yeah…never mind) are standing around his motorcycle (which is conveniently close to the sidewalk compared to where he usually parks) discussing it's make or whatever. Of course _he_ doesn't get in trouble for talking. I say one word to Nudge while Mrs. Bennion's taking attendance and get threatened with a referral. Sheesh.

I'm glad that after this I only have one more class before lunch, and I'm released from Mr. _Principal's son'_s presence. Then I'm home-free for the whole weekend. It's not until we return to our fourth hour class that I remember that life hates me.

"….group project…" Is all I hear Mr. Low say, before I zone out into self-pity land. Cause I just _know _that Mr. Low is going to put me in a group with Fang. He's always thought our 'little rivalry' was kiddish and has been vainly trying to get us together since sophomore year when he realized that we had it out for each other.

"Someone looks a little murderous," Tess says when she walks up to me at my locker after school. I shove my science book into my locker and slam it shut.

"Yeah," I say gruffly, "you got a gun?"

"Who you out to shoot this time?" She asks, just a little t_oo _normally if you ask me. She acts like I've _done_ this before.

"Myself," she raises an eyebrow, "Mr. Low put Fang and Iggy in a group with me for the history timeline project."

"Ah man," she says sarcastically, "In a group with two attractive males. That must suck."

"It does!" I say, ignoring her use of the word 'attractive,' "It's dumb and dumber on steroids. And I thought I could have a nice, relaxing Friday evening with you and Nudge."

This seems to be more serious to her now, as she frowns and replies, "You're missing our girls night? Can't you do the project work tomorrow?"

"No way," I say, "I don't care what either of them wants, we're getting the whole thing done today so I can have the rest of my weekend. I'll visit you guys tomorrow morning and we can hang out then." Did I mention that Tess and Nudge are cousins? Guess not. Well, you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at them. Nudge's dad (who is white) is Tess's mom's brother. They sleep over at each other's houses a lot.

Tess sighs, "Okay Max, hey, here comes Iggy. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, she walks off, and I'm forced to face the wolves alone. Luckily, when I turn around I see that it's just Iggy; Fang nowhere in sight. Iggy and I are slightly more civil to each other, since all I have against him is his stupidity.

"Hey," he says to me, "So where should we do our project?"

It takes me only a moment to answer, since I am definitely not going to either of their houses.

"My place," I say. Where it's safe and clean and my mom can make me chocolate chip cookies.

"Sweet, what time?"

"Probably around four. Soccer practice isn't done until three-thirty."

"Okay, I'll bring the paper," he says.

"You tell Fang," I want to prolong talking to him as long as possible.

"Yep. Okay, seeya then."

I don't bother giving him my address. I know for a fact that both him and Fang know where I live- even if the last time they'd been there was more than three years ago. Fang rode his bike to my house a few times the summer before high school, back when we didn't hate each other's guts. He used to drag Iggy with him. I also had a party once that summer that they both came to. Onidah's a small city, it's not hard to get places.

At soccer practice, I can _almost _forget about the events planned for later this day. I play defense, which I'm pretty good at since I'm fast. Coach tried to put me as forward, but soon discovered that my speed was ill-used since my shooting sucked. As defense, I can just run the person down until they pass out from exhaustion if I want.

I get home around three forty five and take a hot shower to warm my cold limbs. Of course it rains _after _school. I just finish dressing in some basketball shorts and an old t-shirt when I hear Ella call to me from downstairs. Mom is working late at the vet-clinic, so my dreams of melted choclate-y goodness are dashed to pieces.

"Max! Fang's here! Do you want me to get the shot-gun?"

I smile to myself. Ahh, Ella, at least you know how to cheer me up. Maybe if I'm lucky Fang will get scared and leave. One can dream.

I head down the stairs, jumping the last five and landing in a frog leap at the bottom. Hey, it's a habit. I look up to see the amused face of a jean and t-shirt clad Fang above me. I push some wet hair out of my eyes before standing up straight, leading him to the family room down the hall. I'm just about to break my vow of silence when the door bell rings, signaling Iggy's arrival. I skate back down the hallway floorboards in my socks and open the door, permitting him entrance. He carries a rolled up piece of poster paper in one hand.

Once we're all back in the living room, there's an awkward silence. Fang is sitting in my favorite arm-chair, but I pretend not to care. Iggy's on the floor by the t.v., and I opt to stand there silently, not helping the mood.

"Well," I finally say, "we can just divide up the jobs. One person can cut up the card stock while the other two write up the event paragraphs. My hopes in minimizing the damage done to me tonight to paper cuts are crushed when Iggy quickly calls the card stock cutting job. I give him a glare, and notice Fang do the same, but I can't let our project be jeopardized by letting the boys write up our info, so I grudgingly head over to the computer and pull my history textbook from my back pack beside it. Fang comes to sit on the ottoman beside the computer chair I am currently inhabiting.

"So," I say, showcasing my mad social skills, "Mr. Low said that we had to choose at least fifteen events to put on our timeline. And," I glance through the first portion of the textbook, "Looks like we have about fifty to choose from."

He nods. I roll my eyes at his helpfulness and flip my wet hair off my now water-spotted t-shirt with my hand. I then run the same hand through my hair just to further keep it out of my face. Fang stares at me, and I stare back.

"Take a picture, It'll last longer," I say, snapping him out of his trance. Creeper.

"Whatever," he scoffs, "your hair's a mess."

"Well excuse me," I reply, "I didn't realize this was a beauty contest. Does it look like I have anyone to impress here?"

"Hey Max, do you have any scissors?" Iggy cuts in, and I realize that he has just been sitting there watching us the whole time. I open one of the desk drawers for the scissors, but they aren't there. Sighing, I get up and walk over to the living room entryway.

"Ella?" I call up the stairs, "Do you know where the scissors are?"

I hear her bedroom door open and watch as she hops down the stairs.

"What-huh?" She asks.

"The scissors, wherefore art they?"

"You know 'wherefore' means 'why,' right?"

"Yeah yeah, I took Shakespeare sophomore year too."

"I think I left them in the kitchen," she says, and walks across the hall to get them. I go back into the living room and return to the computer, seeing that Fang is actually flipping through the textbook, writing in his notebook every so often.

"I'm making a list of all the events I think we should put on our timeline," he says, holding up his notebook so I can see. I take it from him and glance down at the list, assessing his choices just as Ella walks back into the room.

"Just give the scissors to Iggy," I say, giving an informal swat of the hand to the air beside my head. She hands them over to him, then proceeds to stand there.

"Do you guys need any help?" She asks. I look at her strangely, before realizing that it would be _way_ more comfortable to have her here too, instead of just me with the guys. Man, don't I just have a great sister?

"Yeah, sure," I say, "you can help Iggy, here," I hand her the paper trimmer from off of the desk and she sits down across from Iggy. I watch for a moment as they begin to cut squares together.

"Do you want to type or narrate?" I ask Fang.

"We could switch off," he proposes. I shrug and pull up a _Word_ document on the computer. Behind me, I hear Iggy start a conversation with Ella, and hope that he won't poison her mind too much. Fang begins to read a paragraph on a European monarch and I paraphrase with bullet points on the computer. Part of me vaguely notices that this is the longest amount of time Fang and I have acted civil to each other for all of high school.

After we finish five, we set them into note card format and print them out so that Ella and Iggy can glue them on to squares of blue card stock. Fang and I switch spots and continue our routine when my phone starts to ring:

*_And I don't want the world to see me, cause I don't think that they'd understand…_

I quickly pick it up and answer, "Hey mom."

_"__Max, I'm not gonna be home until around ten tonight, so you guys are gonna have to fend for yourselves for dinner."_

"I have some…" I struggle to find the word to describe Fang and Iggy, "….classmates here working on a history project. Can we order out?"

_"__Sure Hun, I left some cookie dough in the fridge this morning, so if Ella wants she can bake some up for you and your friends."_

"Really?" I squeaked, and then remembered that Fang was right next to me, "I mean, uh, okay, cool. Thanks Mom."

_"__Of course Dear. I'll see you late. I love you."_

_"_Love you too. Bye."

I turn to Ella after I hang up the phone, "Hey, Mom says that we can order out…and…uh…make cookies."

Ella looks at me, incredulous, "She wants you to burn the house down?" Her eyes are wide.

"What? No…she said she left some dough in the fridge and that _you _can bake them."

"Oh, okay," she looks relieved, "that makes more sense." I hear smothered laughter from Fang beside me and choose to ignore it.

"Hey, er, I'll help," says Iggy, standing, and I notice that he and Ella have finished cutting up squares.

"Yeah, okay. Where should call for dinner?"

Fang shrugs, Iggy looks thoughtful, and Ella answers, "Probably just get some pizza."

"Okay, pizza?" I ask, pointing to Iggy. He nods. "Okay, It's settled then."

"Thanks for asking my opinion," says Fang. I scowl and look at him.

"Hey, if you don't want any, then more for me."

He rolls his eyes, muttering something that sounds strangely similar to 'big appetite. how attractive' sarcastically. We continue working on our project, and it isn't until we've printed out the remainder of the paragraphs that I realize the radio on loud in the kitchen, maniacal laughter pouring out from the doorway down the hall.

"What the-" I say, setting the papers down by the timeline before walking towards the kitchen.

What I see from the doorway astounds me.

Flour.

Everywhere.

Ella and Iggy halt in their flower spewing war to see me staring at them. Both of them are covered from head to toe in a thin layer of flour. Lady Gaga's _Bad Romance_ is playing in the background, French echoing around the kitchen.

"How the- what the heck? You didn't even need flour to begin with! The dough was already made!"

"Yeah…" said Iggy.

"We wanted to make more, since there's four of us, and you know how you eat, like, thirty cookies," adds Ella. I hear snickering behind me and notice that Fang is looking over my shoulder at the spectacle before us. I'm about to yell at Ella for the mess, but then realize that she said _more cookies_, and my anger is sated.

"Okay, whatever," I say, "Just make sure you clean this all up before Mom get's home. And make sure you use the outside shower to rinse off."

I walk back to the living room, hearing Ella giggle back in the kitchen, along with a muffled 'hey' and what I assume is more batter being thrown. I turn and smile at Fang next to me, before realizing what I'm doing half a second after he freezes in his tracks.

"Ehem," I say, oh-so-smoothly regaining my composure and walking ahead of him to the living room,"Yeah, we should probably keep working on the timeline."

I turn back to look at him and see him still there, staring at me. The doorbell rings.

"Ope, well, that must be the pizza," I say, but before I can take a step towards the door, Ella slides out of the kitchen to the front door, Iggy hot on her heels.

She grabs the handle and flings it open, shouting, "I win!" At the top of her lungs, "Oh yeah, hey Max, you have any cash?" She says, still yelling.

"I'm right here Ella, and yeah," I reach into my back pocket and pull out a fifty dollar bill I grabbed from our family's TakOUt box when I ordered the pizza earlier. I hand it to the still-shocked delivery guy and take the five pizza's out of his arms. Ella picks up the two liter root bear bottles next his feet and shuts the door.

"I think you made that guy wet his pants," I say to her, bringing the pizza's into the kitchen and setting them on the table.

"Okay…" I start listing off each pizza while subsequently handing them to their owners, "Cheese for Ella, Hawaiian for Iggy, pepperoni and sausage for Fang, Veggie Lovers for Mom," I put that one in the fridge, "and green olives, mushrooms, and sausage for _moi._"

"Wow…a whole pizza per person?" Says Iggy.

"Well yeah," I say in a 'duh' tone of voice, "we all wanted different toppings."

"Yeah, but I thought you could just split them down the middle or something, with different toppings on either side."

"Yeah, but that would be lame," I reply, "And besides, why are you complaining? You can't eat a whole pizza?" I taunt.

"Is that a challenge," I hear Fang say beside me. I turn to him and look him straight in the eyes- my brown ones versus his nearly black ones. I raise an eyebrow, "Depends. Are you man enough?"

"Bet I could eat more pizza than you," he says smugly, "after all, I am a guy."

I open my mouth, feigning shock, "Wow, Fang being a sexist pig? You are _so_ on."

Needless to say, we spend the next hour eating our pizza's whole and than the two after that in a food coma watching _Fairy Tail_ on t.v.

"I can't believe we're watching Anime," says Fang, groaning as he tries to sit up.

"Is there something wrong with Anime?" I ask with much less fire in it than I intended. Food vs. Max. Food: 1, Max: blaaaahh.

Just then, Ella starts laughing at nothing in particular, making the rest of us start laughing just because we are trying so hard _not_ to. We all end up wheezing for air and then laughing some more because we all sound like dying chickens. Or cows. Or whatever.

"Why….Ella…" I choke, tears coming out of my eyes as I start hyperventilating.

"Oh yes, _that's_ attractive," Fang says to me.

"You just be quiet," I threaten him, "Or I'll…."

"Or you'll what?" He shoots back.

"Uh oh, things bout to get down and ugly," Iggy says, trying to imitate Oprah or something.

"We better escape while we can!" Ella says, and her and Iggy get up and hobble out the sliding back door to the patio.

"No, Ella! Don't leave me!" I cry out half-heartedly.

"Yep, very attractive," Fang says again sarcastically.

"Ok, that's it!" I shout, "You're asking for it!"

"Oh no! I'm so scared!" He fake yells in a girly voice, "Seriously, what are you gonna do."

"I'm going…" I stand up slowly, "…to…" I take a step forward "…sit on you!" And with that I pounce, knocking him off of the couch and onto the floor. He lands on his back, with me sitting sideways on top of his chest.

"Ahh!" He gasps, "…Can't…breath…too…heavy…"

"Hey, you should have thought of that before you challenged me to an eating contest, now I weigh ten pounds more," I say, but slide off of him anyways. He sits up, so we're both facing each other now, cross-legged.

"You must be so proud, you finally hit your goal of two-hundred pounds," he teases.

"What?!" I shove his chest and he falls back a little, catching himself with his arms so that his torso is diagonal from the floor. His hair brushes back from his forehead a bit, and I am about to reply, when I realize he's grinning at me- full on. I also realize that I'm smiling back like an idiot, and that he's still waiting for my snarky come-back. Slowly, our smiles slip off our faces, and the look he gives me is way more intense than any I've ever seen.

"Heyo!" Ella calls, stumbling back in, dragging Iggy behind her by his hand.

"You guys still alive?" Asks Iggy. Then they spot us, "Oh boy, I can see that you too are very much alive!" Him and Ella cackle maniacally, while I comprehend just what it might have looked like when they walked in on us.

Not that they walked in on us…it wasn't like we were doing anything…wait, what?

"No way!" I say, coming back to myself, "He just called me fat! He is so dead!"

With that, Fang leaps up from his spot on the ground and sprints towards the kitchen

"Whoa bro, really?" Iggy asks, "Have I taught you nothing about women?"

"What are you talking about?" Fang counters as we face each other, circling around the island in between us, "You don't know anything about women!"

"You both suck!" I say when I realize that I am quickly running out of breath, relieved when I see Fang the same way. Just then, I hear a key unlocking the front door.

"Dive for cover!" I yell, as my mom walks through the door.

"What in the…" I hear as she enters the living room. She probably spotted the pillows and pizza boxes on the floor, along with the t.v. playing the end song on _Fairy Tail._

Ella and Iggy somehow escaped into the backyard at the last second, leaving Fang and I inside, huddled down on one end of the island.

"Oh crap, your Mom's here," Fang whispers.

"Well thank you, captain obvious," I whisper back. Footsteps can be heard drawing closer, and I press a finger to Fang's lips just as he looks about to reply. 'I'm going in,' I mouth to him.

Just as I'm about to stand up, my mom's shadow appears above us.

"Max? What in the world hap…" she trails off when she's see's who's beside me.

"Fang," she says shortly. We both stand slowly. Fang looks about ready to say something, but she cuts him off.

"I think you should leave," she says. I stare in shock. Her voice was cold- really cold.

"Look, Mrs. Martinez, the mess is my fault-" he stutters.

"No. I think _you_ should leave," she repeats with a glare that could kill rabid wolves (okay I'm not the best at metaphors).

"I, uh," he tries again.

"Mom-" I start.

"No, Max," she says hotly, turning to me, "He needs to get out of this house, right now. I can't believe you let him in after all the pain he caused our family- after all the pain he caused you…did you forget how he-"

"No Mom!" I yell back at her, "No! I didn't forget! But-"

"Then why is he here?" She interrupts, "I told you guys like him don't get second chances."

"What?" I say, momentarily confused, "What- oh, no, _Mom_, he's here for our history project! No other reason! You think I'd be stupid enough to go for him again? Seriously Mom? It's great to know you have so much faith in me."

It's so quiet then you could have heard a pin drop. I realize what I said. I realize that Fang is still here and that he just _heard_ all of that. I turn to stare at him, shocked at the whole freaking situation.

"Fang- I, uh-" I stammer out.

"No," he says, running a hand through his hair, "Your Mom's right. I should just leave."

I stand still as a statue as he walks to the living room, the sounds of his backpack zipping up echoing in my ears. The front door shuts with a finality, and I cringe at the sound. It's a few minutes before either of us says anything. I'm the first to speak.

"Well, _that_ was embarrassing," I look around the kitchen, at the mess we made and the one Ella and Iggy _didn't_ clean up, "I should probably clean this up."

"I'm sorry," says a quiet voice next to me. I turn to look at my mom.

"I'm sorry," she repeats, "I did't mean to snap like that. It's just been a hard day at work, and I'm exhausted, and when I came home to see him here, all I could think of was how much pain he caused you in the past."

"Mom-"

"I guess I was just afraid he would hurt you again."

I am quiet.

"I do trust you honey," she continues, "I'm sorry."

The epic change of emotions I have undergone in the past five minutes almost make me cry. Almost. I turn to my mom an hug her close. I hear the sliding door open and turn my head to see Ella walk in. Just Ella, no Iggy. I decide I better question her about it later.

"Sorry about the mess, Mom," Ella starts, "I was about to clean it up…"

Mom waves her hand in a dismissing matter, pulling away from me, "It's alright, it's alright. I just had a stressful day at work is all," she takes a deep breath, "I'm just going to head to bed."

Ella and I are both silent as Mom walks up the stairs, waiting until we hear her bedroom door shut before Ella says, "Iggy left. I let him out the side gate when I saw Mom yelling at you."

"Yeah…" I say, still a little out of it, "Fa…Nick left too." I look around me. "I should probably finish our project. I'll help you when I'm done."

Ella nods and I walk back into the living room, turning off the t.v. and staring blankly at the half-finished timeline.

* Osel prikladom: donkey butt

Zaderzhka: retard

Max's ringtone: Iris by Googoo Dolls


	3. Fifteen Hours in the Life of Fang Walker

**Hey guys! I decided to do a short Fang POV chap for today, just so you can get an idea on what's going through his mind. Or, sort of. He doesn't really get it either. Let me know what you think! Also, here's some reply's to reviewers:**

**Komii15: Thanks! I'll be trying to update every week-day!**

**Maximumgirl23306: Haha, I know, poor Fang.**

**BlackH00di3: Haha, I didn't really get that last part, but it made my sister and I laugh! Thanks for the review!**

**xxsmileyme123xx: Love your comments! They really help me get my mojo on!**

**Okay, here's the chapter- RnR!**

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 3_

_Fifteen Hours in the Life of Fang Walker_

When I walk out the front door, I'm almost too dazed to notice that Iggy's car is no longer in the drive-way. Figures he would desert me. I swing my leg over my motorcycle seat robotically, wondering _what in the freak _just happened. Something about me hurting Max, and her not giving me a second chance. A second chance? Did I say I ever asked for a second chance?

Did I want one?

I shake my head before putting on my helmet. I'm riding home when I remember that we never finished our project. Dang. I know I can't go back now, so I briefly wonder if this assignment is a big portion of our grade. I hear my phone receive a message, the opening guitar chords to _You Give Love a Bad Name _by Bonjovi cut off as I unlock my screen, reading a text from Iggy.

_Max says she is finishing timeline. _

_What the heck happened back there?_

I tap my thumb against the side of my phone, not sure how to answer that question since I didn't know myself.

_Not sure man. _

I decide to keep it simple. Iggy'll get it. He always does.

When I walk into the house, Gazzy and Angel are sitting in the living room- Gaz watching t.v. on the couch while Angel does what looks like her homework. Angel looks up and smiles at me, while Gazzy says, "Sup bro?" I think he's trying to be cool, but the affects' lost on my since I'm his brother.

Gazzy (who's actual name is Zephyr- I won't bother to explain his nickname) and Angel are twins, freshmen this year at Southern Cross. If you're wondering how in the world we are related since they're the blonde, blue-eyed white kids and I'm dark-haired and tan, I'll make it simple for you. We had different Dads. Angel and Gazzy are a result of my mom's second marriage, after the divorce. They look like our parents. I look like my dad.

"How did it go at Max's?" My mom asks when I enter the kitchen. She has a mug of some mystery beverage and is sitting at the counter.

"It was fine," I say simply. No need to go in to the particulars, and actually, if half of it was really good, and the other half was really bad, then 'fine' is a good median.

"You were at Max's?" Asks Angel when she comes into the kitchen for a snack. I shrug.

"Was it that Max who you liked in middle school?" She persists. I shrug again.

"There's only one Max," I say.

"Fang doesn't like Max anymore, darling," Mom says, "Max is one of those rebel children in class."

"Really?" Asks Angel, "She seems really nice to me, and funny. I'm in her Spanish one class."

"Hah," I say, "I knew she took Spanish."

"Actually we were talking in class and she said that she's only taking it as a last resort elective. She already has three years of Russian to cover her Language Exploration credits."

"We don't have Russian at our school," I say, even though she did supposedly use it on me today.

Angel shrugs this time, "She took it at the University with her mom."

My phone rings again as I revive another text. I look down, expecting Iggy, but see that it's Lissa instead.

"Who's that?" My mom asks.

"Lissa," I answer, reading her text to myself. _Hey Nick, how did things go with you and Iggy at Max's? Did you survive? XD_

I sigh. Everyone was going to ask about this, weren't they? I mean, I guess I have to admit that it hurt _a little_ when her mom told Max not to give second chances to 'guys like me,' but that didn't mean the whole thing was my fault, did it?

"What's the matter?" Asks Angel, "Did she ask you out again?"

"No," I say. Lissa's been trying to get back together ever since we broke up sophomore year- she just doesn't seem to get that I don't feel that way anymore (if I ever did… I mean, wait what? Of course I did, why else would I have gone out with her?). I will never understand women.

"I don't see why you don't want to go out with Lissa, she's a very nice girl- good grade's too," my mom puts in. I just shake my head and walk down the hall to my room, shutting the door behind me. Mom likes Lissa. Lissa is good for show, and respects my mom.

I finally get another message from Iggy, and this one actually surprises me.

_What do you think of her sister?_

I answer quickly, _She seems nice. Why?_

_Thinking of asking her out._

What the heck? He's only known her for…what…six hours? I shake my and stare at the screen. Why Ella? Why Max's sister? Doesn't he realize how awkward that would be if they started dating? Then again, this was Iggy…

_Why?_

I press send, trying to prolong the inevitable.

_She's cool. Nice and stuff- fun to be with._

All that from just a few hours? What about the fact that she's a _sophomore _and _Max's sister_? I sigh and answer him back before setting the phone down on my dresser and changing before getting into bed.

_Okay Igs, just be careful. Max's wrath is NOT something you want to be on the receiving end of._

That was something I could confirm.

_Will do. Seeya tomorrow._

* * *

I wake up in the morning to the feeling of warm wet liquid sticking to the side of my face. Not exactly the best feeling. I open my eyes to see that our dog, Total, has decided to take residence in my bed again. I groan.

"Angel!" I call, my voice scratchy since I just woke up. A curly blonde head peaks through my door.

"Get your dog out of my room. You promised Mom he'd be your responsibility."

"He is," she protests, picking up the terrier.

"Then why is he always in my bed?" I sit up, wiping some slobber off my face. Angel looks at me and giggles.

"I guess he just likes you- nice hair."

I turn to the side and can see my reflection in the bathroom mirror connected to my room. My hair is sticking up on one side, the dog-slobber not helping my look. Out of the corner of my eye, I see my clock indicating seven oh' three in the morning.

"Whatever," I groan, and turn over, chucking my tainted pillow off the bed as Angel leaves the room with her mutt. There goes my good Saturday morning. I eventually decide to get out of bed and get in a good workout at our home gym, before showering and heading to my job at the trampoline park down town. I work from nine to twelve-thirty, making sure kids don't give each other concussions or break their necks diving into the foam pit. It's a nice day outside when I get off of work and get a text from Iggy.

_At the fall festival with Lissa, Rachet, and Kate. Holden and Star say they're on the way. You still coming?_

_Yeah, _I reply, _Just got off work, should be there in a few minutes. Where do you guys want to meet?_

_Told Holden to go to the Slurpy Shack, so I'll seeya there. BTW I just saw your sister- I think she's with some friends._

_Yeah my mom dropped her off earlier. Seeya in a few._

About ten minutes later, I'm walking through the crowds at the festival, making my way to the meeting point. After the group's all together, we wander the crowd, taking part in the random activities they have at the fair.

"Hey, I just got a text from Ella," Iggy says to me while the girls attempt some sort of strength game- Kate winning of course, "She says she's by the skate park, that there's a competition there or something."

"That's cool," I say.

"I think I'm gonna go man," he says, running a hand through his hair.

I stop, "What? You nervous?"

He gives me a sideways smile of sorts, "Kinda," he says.

I roll my eyes, "Just go." He grins and nods, before heading off into the crowd somewhere.

"Where's he going?" Asks Holden.

"To meet a girl, apparently," I say.

"Really?" Says Star, "Who?"

"Yeah Nick, who? Star wants to know who her competition is," Rachet teases. Star elbows him in the stomach and they get into one of their quarrels.

"Every body knows they like each other," says Kate from beside me, "I don't even know why they try to hide it anymore." Rachet and Star are too into their argument to deny her observation. I nod casually, but my mind has been on Max since Iggy mentioned her sister. I couldn't help wondering if she was here too- what if we ran into each other? What the heck was I supposed to say? _Sorry about running out on you last night, I just didn't feel like getting gutted by your mom_, or, _Hey, I know you probably hate me, but what do you say we start over? _

Wait, what? Where did that second one come from? I look up to see Kate looking at me weirdly as I have an internal conversation with myself. Hopefully I just wouldn't see Max today. Or her see me. Actually, as long as we don't have to talk to each other, I'll be good.

Lissa and Star have just gotten some cotton candy when I hear my name being called through the crowd. I turn around to see Angel pushing her way towards me.

"Fang!" She says, breathless- she's the only one who calls me that; her and, well, Max- "You gotta come with me! I was just watching the skateboarding competition, and it's amazing! Gazzy's doing good, he got third for his age group, but now they're onto the finals!" I let myself get dragged through the crowd while wondering what the significance of this particular event could be. I hear Lissa and Kate behind me, vaguely wondering the reason for the rush.

It's not until we make it to the edge of the cheering crowd, right before the caution tape, that I see it. Or rather, _her_.


	4. Fall Festival's Finest

**Hey! Chap. 4 for ya. There's a lot of skate terms and stuff at ****the**** beginning, for which you can just ****substitute with "skates really coolly" or in Max's case, "Supernatural skating ability on fireness"**

**Let me know what ya think! Max in fight or flight mode. Haha, get it? Flight as in...yeah, okay. Here's the chapter.**

**Max's POV btw.**

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 4_

_Fall Festival's Finest_

There's a lot of people gathered around the skate park, most of which I'm sure know nothing about skateboarding- but hey, whatever, long as they don't get in my way.

Today is a good day. There's no rain, the sun's out, and I have a lot of pent up energy from that awkward-as-heck fight that occurred yesterday. I roll my head around, stretching my neck, and re-strapping on my elbow and knee pads, leaving my helmet for last. I'm vaguely aware of how sweaty all my pads are, but have more important things to worry about, plus, it's nothing new. I won the final's last year, but there's a lot more people watching this time. I know I can do this, I just have to find my happy place.

Oh, I didn't mention I was a skater, did I? Huh. Well what with school starting this week, and that special project thing whatever that happened yesterday, it kind of slipped my mind. I practiced Tuesday and Thursday evening for a few hours, but gave myself Friday off to rest my muscles. Well, at least as much as I could considering I still had soccer practice to go to. Guess I forgot to mention it.

Right now there are two other skaters besides me in the finals. Some red-head dude who looks around twenty years old, and another guy who looks closer to my age and probably attends the local public high school. I've never seen either of them before at the skate park, but by the way I've seen them perform so far, they had to have practiced somewhere.

First up is the red-head guy, and he drops into a shallower part of the bowl first, pumping around for a few seconds before getting up a good rhythm and doing his first trick. A pretty high Method Air sends him over the lip of the bowl and into the more terrain based part of the park. He speeds towards the far end of the left-side ramp, curving at the last second to get in a nice Back-side grind before swooping back in and immediately jumping off one of the meridians in a medium sized Front side Air. He then returns to the starting point, kicking up his skateboard. It was a pretty good run, but nothing too impressive to experienced skateboarders. The crowd seemed to love it though, a few crazy girl fans going wild on the sidelines.

Next is the teen guy. He drops in at the same spot the last guy did, but this time getting in a good one-eighty at the first jump- lots of cheering arises from the spectators. His second trick is a smooth Nosegrind before he quickly transitions into his final trick, a nice Backside air before RockinRollin back the start. Lots of cheers go up in the crowd once again, and I put on my wrists guards- me being the only one who chose to wear any sort of padding- but hey, I wanted live to skate another day.

I decide to shake it up a little, with a trick I've been practicing recently until I was sure I could do it perfectly. I kick-flip my board up into a Primo, where I do a Railstand at the very edge of the bowl- the steepest part- and then drop into it in a free-fall. I hear a lot of gasps, but quickly tune out all of the loud racket of the watching crowd, zoning into my skating, becoming one with the board. I pump until I have a good amount of speed, before skating up the side of the bowl and using a huge Airwalk Grab to enter the other half of the park. My blood is pumping, so I head over the the left side ramp like the first guy, but this time throwing myself up into a high Front-side air.

Skating is the closest thing to flying, I imagine. The way the board glides with you and your muscles strain in glorious rendition. My final trick is coming up at the re-entrance into the bowl, and I bend my knees a little deeper in order to get enough power. I turn as I jump into the air with my board, performing a perfect 360- actually something I first learned with snowboarding rather than skating- and slide smoothly back into the bowl before coming back up to the side where everyone is waiting.

Almost like a bubble pops, I can hear the crowd go up in a roar and glanced over it reflexively. I know Nudge and Tess are in there somewhere, but my eyes halt and I freeze when I met the shocked gaze of none other than- Fang. We lock eyes for a moment before I turn away to shake the hands of my competitors. The thing I like about skating as a sport, is that every one treats you with respect if you know what you're doing, no hard feelings if someone is better than you- just more to work up to. The judges waste no time in announcing the winner, handing me a nice shiny trophy for me to add to my collection, and a silver and bronze colored medal to the red-haired guy and the teenager respectively. I duck under the tape, getting some 'awesome riding' and 'good job' s along with several pats on the back as I meet up with Nudge and Tess, a few yards away from the skate park.

"Awesome as ever!" Says Nudge, hugging me but quickly pulling back when she realizes how sweaty I am. I laugh.

"That was really amazing," says Tess, "I keep forgetting how good you are."

I hear someone calling my name and turn just in time to catching a curly blonde Angel as she launches herself into my arms, ignoring the sweat. I awkwardly pat her back, careful not to hit her with my wrist guards.

"Uh, hey," I say, "someone's awfully huggy."

"Sorry," she says, pulling back, "That was just so cool!" I smile at her. Angel is a nice kid, one of the few intelligent girls in my Spanish class. I sit down on a nearby curb and begin removing my skateboard pads, setting them on the ground beside me. Angel starts talking to Nudge and Tess about my set. I remove my helmet and shake out my hair, looking up just as I see Fang and his group walking towards us. I grit my teeth and prepare myself.

"That was so cool Max!" Says Lissa, running over.

"Thanks," I say, "I try."

"How much did you have to practice to get those down?" Asks Holden.

"A lot," I say, giving him a small grin.

"It must take guts to do those huge airs," Kate comments, and I shrug. Finally Fang speaks, and I'm forced to look at him for the first time since they walked up.

"I didn't know you skated," he says, voice low. Lissa nods enthusiastically.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," I say slyly. There's a small silence when no one around us knows what to say after that.

"Ehem," I start, about to excuse myself to get a drink when I hear Ella.

"Hey Max!" She shouts, and I see her walking over with Iggy, Sam, and…Dylan.

"Oh, hey El," I say casually.

"I'll be happy to announce that you're still alive to Mom," she says, grinning.

"Yeah yeah, Mom knows I'm safe," I say, gesturing to the pile of skate pads beside me. Mom being a mom is, of course, over protective and thinks skating is too dangerous.

Kate and Star are talking, as well as Rachet and Dylan now, who keeps looking over at me and wiggling his eyebrows. I roll my eyes and Sam notices Dylan as well, scowling and moving closer to me. He holds out a water bottle, and I take it gratefully.

"Thanks," I say, savoring the feel of the cool liquid down my throat.

"No problem, I knew you'd probably need some after that run of yours. It was awesome by the way."

"Thanks," I say again, smiling. Now, with our intertwined groups, I see Fang still looking at me intensely, and I'm at a loss for words. What the heck do I say to him after yesterday? It was embarrassing…but also enlightening. My mom was right about him, and I needed to keep my guard up. There. I can just treat him like before.

"So how long have you guys been here?" I ask Lissa.

"Oh, about an hour before we watched you skate," I nod.

"Cool."

"Hey," says Holden, "so maybe we should all hang out since we're here, y'know."

"Uh…" I say, not wanting to be stuck in the same place as Fang long enough for him to confront me about yesterday.

"Yeah!" Says Nudge enthusiastically, and I see her looking at Dylan, who is obliviously looking at…me…dang.

"I second that notion," he says, winking at me. I inwardly groan, hoping Nudge didn't see. Ope. She did.

"Yeah," adds Lissa, "It'll be fun with a larger group. I think they're starting the bonfire! Let's go!" I pick up my duffle bag that holds all my skate gear, along with my skateboard. We all follow her, assuming she knows where it is. She takes a short cut through a woodsy path not many people are on. It, of course, is only wide enough for us to walk in two's. I quickly catch up to Lissa to walk beside her before I can get stuck with Dylan…or Fang. I can hear Star and Rachet behind us, arguing.

"So…" I say to Lissa when I hear conversation start up with the others as well, trying to say something other than what I'm thinking, "Do you like Fang?" I ask. Okay, well that failed.

She instantly turns red, embarrassed, "Is it that obvious?" She says.

"Not really," I answer, honestly, "I just pick up on those sorts of things."

"Oh," she says, "Yeah, I've liked him ever since we broke up…but I know he doesn't feel the same. It's okay though, I just like being able to be around him."

"Well to be honest, I don't really get what you see in him," I say, and then instantly regret speaking my mind. I mean, I don't get what _she_ see's in him. _Me_ on the other hand…wait what?

I hear Lissa laugh beside me, "You know, he said the same thing to Dylan when he admitted he was interested in you."

I nearly choke as I say, "Wh-Dylan likes me? Like, for reals? I thought he was just kidding around." Oh crap. Nudge is so going to kill me.

"Yeah, he says you're interesting and don't go all 'gaga' over him like other girls."

"Ah man, this sucks," I say holding one and to my forehead. Lissa looks surprised.

"You don't like him?"

"Heck no!" I say, drawing Star and Rachet out of their argument. They look at me strangely before Star turns back to Rachet, saying, "Tomatoes are totally a fruit."

"No way! They are a vegetable! They _taste_ like a vegetable!" He counters.

"Fruit!"

"Vegetable!"

I turn back to Lissa, "I mean, I hardly know him, and he's stung along too many girls for my taste. Plus, he's too much of a pretty boy."

Lissa laughs, throwing her head back, "He's on the _football_ team!"

"Yeah," I say, "That's totally a pretty boy sport."

Lissa chuckles again, shaking her head, "I do not get you Max. Not one bit."

Join the club, I'm thinking. I see that we've arrived at the bonfire, and Kate and Tess start to look for seats and I suddenly realize how freaking _hungry_ I am. I didn't eat lunch because I was too nervous about my skating competition, and that means it's been over seven hours since I've eaten. I spot a fast food stand across the courtyard the bonfire's being held in.

"Hey," I say, nudging Nudge (hah!), "I'm gonna go grab some chow." She nods curtly at me, turning back to her conversation with Dylan who is clearly _not_ listening. What a jerk. I hand off my duffle bag to Sam, telling him I'll be right back, interrupting what looks like a rather _heated_ discussion between him and Fang. He nods and smiles at me. I think I see Fang glare, but quickly realize it must just be the haze of smoke from the fire.

When I get to the food joint across the way, I come to the conclusion that I most definitely _won't_ be 'right back,' as I said I would. This line is _so_ long. It's nearly twenty minutes when I finally get my personal pizza, and I jump off to the side behind some other vendors to eat it because I cannot wait any longer.

I've just bitten into my first slice, when I hear a voice from behind me, "I can't believe you can eat _more_ pizza after last night."

I start to turn saying, "Well, I have the metabolism of a …" I trail off when I see that it's Fang, and gulp my pizza down in a hard smile, finishing lamely with, "…a bird…"

He's looking at me intensely, similar to the way he looked at me last night, and I know I have no chance of escaping this conversation. I try anyway.

"Huh, uh, I think everyone's probably wondering where I am so I should just go back probably, you know, cause…" I'm rambling as I try to walk past him, but he reaches a hand out and grabs my arm, stopping me in my tracks. I clutch my pizza in the other hand tightly.

"I'm all gross and stinking you know," I say, "So you probably don't want to do that."

He snorts a 'like I care' kind of snort and takes a step closer to me. I decide to get this over with quickly.

"Look," I say, sighing, "Can't we just forget about last night? Pretend it never happened and go back to how we were before? Capiche?" I try to pull away but his grip only tightens on my arm. I glare at it.

"No can do," he says, and I wonder why the heck he is here, "You can't just go charging off like you usually do for this situation."

What? I do not go 'charging off' as he so elegantly put it, "I guess you leave me no choice then," I say. I take my left over pizza, briefly mourning over it's sacrifice in my mind, before tossing it right at his face.

He isn't quick enough to move because of his grip on me, so it smacks against his cheek as he yelps, "What the crud?" and his grip loosens. I swiftly jerk away from him, and make a mad dash for it, turning back only to yell, "Sorry! You looked hungry!" And speeding on towards where I last saw the rest of the group. I know he won't confront me in front of them, and I am determined to make sure he doesn't get another chance to for the rest of the evening.

I make it back to them, panting, and gulp it down just as Fang rushes in behind me.

"Max," he says menacingly. Uh oh. I do the first think I can think of to keep him away.

"Dylan!" I yell cheekily, looping my arm through one of his as he stands next to where our group is seated, drinking a soda. He turns to me, grinning.

"Hey babe," he says, and I try not to cringe at the nickname. I quickly realize my mistake when I see Nudge glaring at me from across where he was standing. I gulp. Crap. This sucks majorly.

"Dude, what's on your face?" Says Rachet to Fang. I look back at him and notice that he has red sauce on his cheek where I hit him with the pizza slice.

"Nothing," he murmurs, still looking at me, frustration written all over his face. I give him a sly smile before turning back to face the new problem at hand.

"Oh dang! Sorry!" I say to Dylan, pulling away, "Thought you were Sam, haha!" I internally slap myself as I remember that I obviously called Dylan's name when I grabbed him.

"It's okay sweetie," he says, "I know you really just can't resist my glorious charm."

"Yep," I say dryly, "That is totally it." I look over at Fang and am relieved to see that Rachet and Holden are talking to him. I hear a loud speaker turn on and the bonfire begins. I settle next to Tess, who smiles at me before turning back to the speaker in front of the bonfire.

Luckily, I manage to avoid Fang for the rest of the night. Ella disappears with Iggy somewhere, but I seem to be the only one to notice. As we are leaving the festival, I receive a text from her, informing me that Iggy is giving her a ride back to our house, with a lot of smiley's and hearts next to it. I roll my eyes.

The group parts ways, and Tess and I head to Nudge's car. I ride shotgun while Tess takes the back. On the way to her house, Tess tells us all about her newfound crush on Holden Hewitt, and I nod every now and then. We drop Tess off at her house, and the car is suddenly very quiet as we drive to my house. Nudge slows her car down as we approach it, and I see something that looks oddly similar to a figure leaning against a motorcycle in my driveway. I gulp, knowing I have no choice but to break the tense silence between Nudge and I.

"Hey Nudge?" I say, my voice dry, "Do you think maybe I could stay at your place tonight." She nods stiffly.

I slouch in my seat, relieved, as she speeds up again, passing my house. I look to my right out the car window, and briefly meet gazes with Fang, before turning to see Nudges hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"Besides," She says, in a continued answer to my earlier question, "We need to talk."

Oh boy.

* * *

I get out of the shower, putting on the pi's Nudge is letting me borrow after drying off. I walk back into her bedroom to see her sitting cross-legged on the bed, looking prepared to gut me. I gulp, and shut the door behind me.

Taking a step into the room, I am surprised when she doesn't yell at me, but instead bursts into tears.

"How could you!" She yells, burying her face into a pillow. I rush to her side, now fully away of the severity of my crimes. Nudge hardly ever cries- usually just gets mad or gives the silent treatment. This is serious.

"Nudge, hun, I am so sorry," I say in a rush, putting my arms around her and holding her tight. Even though she's upset with me, I know the best way to comfort Nudge is always by hug.

"I swear I'm not flirting with him," I say, "I'm not interested in him at _all_. He was just the first person I saw, and I was in panic mode, and I'm sorry."

Nudge sniffs, pulling her head from the pillow, leaving a few smears of mascara, "Really?" She says in a tiny voice.

"Of course," I say, smiling relievedly, knowing she will listen to me.

"I would never try to steal your man," I say, "You know that."

"I know," she says quietly, "I was just so mad, because he so obviously likes you," she continues, gesturing aimlessly with her hands.

"Oh, no no no," I say, quickly choosing not to tell her about what Lissa told me, "He just thinks I'm entertaining. I'm just a short fling that he's interested in. You're his neighbor, there's no way he won't fall for you." I am convincing myself as I say this, cause it just makes sense, you know?

I hope.

"Yeah, you're right," she says, now laughing and wiping under her eyes with the pad of her pointer finger, "Besides, he can't resist my charms forever!"

I nod, laughing with her. She looks at me though, suddenly serious.

"What were you panicked about?" She asks. My stomach drops. Oops. Forgot I mentioned that. But even though Nudge has attachment issues, I remind myself that she is still my best friend, and decide to tell her.

We spend the next few hours reliving and dissecting the last two nights' previous activities before falling asleep sometime around two, back to best friends again, much to my relief. Now all I have to do is figure out how to avoid Fang for the rest of…my life.

Dang.


	5. The Words We Left Unsaid

**Hey guys, another choppy for ya. Addin Dyl into the mix a little more. I think the next chapter will be in Fang POV, as I decided it would be good to do every third chapter not-Max. So possible OC POV's the the future. Let me know what you think, RnR. :) Thanks**

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 5_

_The Words We Left Unsaid_

_Flashback- Freshman Year- September 13th: The Day I Give Up_

_It's Science class, and my lab partner isn't here today, forcing me to join the group behind me- which just _happens_ to be Fang and Lissa. They aren't going out yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. Fang's been such a jerk lately. Ever since we've entered high school and everyone found out he's the Principal's son, he's been acting like he's better than everyone and only hanging out with Junior's and Seniors. I thought he liked me, like I like him, but I guess I was wrong. He's always flirting with Lissa now that he's 'in her league' and completely ignoring me. I mean, it's not like we are going out or anything, but I thought we had something special…_

_Man I need to stop overthinking things apparently. _

_Lissa has left to go get in line for a microscope for our group, and that leaves Fang to harass me. His usual treatment as of late when he's not ignoring me. I face forward in my seat, refusing to look at him as he taunts me, flaunting the fact that I like him right in my face. After a minute, I can't take it anymore. All the hurt and frustration I've been feeling ever since school started has been building up, and now it bursts like a dam. _

_Whirling on him in my seat, I say the first thing that comes to my mind:_

_ "__You know what Fang? Why don't you just go make-out with your girlfriend Lissa?" Really Max? That's the best you can come up with? Way to make it obvious just how jealous you are. _

_Regardless of my thoughts, I still face him, seething._

_His face has gone totally shocked at my words, stupid as they were, but he quickly puts his 'cool' facade again and says smugly, "Fine. I will."_

_I turn around, letting my face drop once I know he can't see me. I here Lissa come back behind me and say something about the experiment we are doing. Still facing forward, I squint my eyes shut and hold back any tears that threaten to come out. _

_That's it. I'm done with this. This is the day, I give up on Fang Walker._

_Later that day, I just shrug when Nudge announces to Tess and I that Fang Walker has finally asked out Lissa Lancaster._

_End-flashback_

This may just be me, but Monday's suck. And not only do I have to give a report using the timeline, but I'll have to speak with Iggy _and _Fang about how we are going to organize the report. Sure enough, when I walk into class first hour, Fang is here early, so I attach myself to a blabbing Nudge in order to claim sanctuary. I guess Fang doesn't see this as the gigantic hint that it is, cause he comes over anyways.

"Hey," he says, gaining Nudge's attention. She gives him a sparkling smile, almost like she _doesn't_ know how he's been bugging me the past few days…or worse…_supports_ it. Crap. I knew telling her was a mistake. Me and my blonde moments.

"Is it alright if I borrow Max for a second?" He asks her, and I stiffen. Come on Nudge, you love me don't yo-

"Sure Nick, no problem," she says, turning to doodle on her binder with a sparky pen. I glare at her, but she's doing a phenomenal job of avoiding my gaze. I feel a hand on my arm, and move away, standing up in the process. I start fast-walking towards the hallway door, but Fang catches up to me, grabbing my hand tightly before I can escape. I stop in shock at the feeling to stare at him but he ignores me, pulling ahead and bringing me out into the hallway with him. People are milling around the halls, and somehow don't seem to notice us. Hmm…maybe if I scream…

"Max," Fang says, and I look back at him, blinking him into focus. This is happening. Dang.

"Yeah yeah," I say, regaining my composure, "'We need to talk.'" He nods at me and carefully steps away, making sure I don't bolt. I cross my arms.

"We've hated each other for a long time," he says bluntly.

I roll my eyes, "Well thank you, Captain Obvious. Can I go now?"

Now it's his turn to roll his eyes, "_Max."_

"Fine fine, so you want to talk about the argument my mom and I had, for some strange reason? I don't know what to tell you, my mom got mad, you unfortunately had to see. I don't see what the big deal is."

"Then why have you been trying to run away every time I attempt at confronting you about it?" He asks, obviously pleased at his witty come back.

"What can I say?" I shrug, "I don't like to be around guys who don't believe in personal hygiene." I can almost see him resisting the urge to smell himself to make sure he doesn't actually stink (which he doesn't…wait what?). He sets his face into a frustrated frown.

"Look…" he trails off, then in one big breath he continues, "Youcan'tdenythere'ssomethingbetweenus."

What the-? "Say-_what_?" I say, taking a step back. Did he just say what I think he did?

"So what? First we hate each other but now there's something _between_ us?"

He looks flustered, and runs a hand through his raven hair. I mean black hair. I mean- just hair. Yeah.

"Look," I say back, "The only thing I want between us, is a ginormous wall made out of large spikes and poisonous ivy." That way you can be just as uncomfortable as I am having this conversation.

"Are you seriously saying you don't feel it?" He asks, eyes troubled.

"What? Annoyed?" I ask blatantly.

He shakes his head, "No. Don't you feel-"

I cut him off this time, something inside of me snapping.

"Look, _Nick_, we've been here before okay? Like three years ago. It's been too long for you to be bringing up the past. Yesterday is history. The stupid argument didn't _mean_ anything, and I don't know what you're trying to prove here. Can't we _please_ just _forget_ about it?" I'm pleading now. He stands there silently for a minute, unreadable expression on his face.

"Whatever," he mutters, and turns to walk away. I swiftly turn on my heel and head back into the classroom, not giving _him_ the satisfaction of walking away from _me_.

A few minutes late, Fang re-enters the classroom, taking his seat just as the loud speaker comes on for morning announcements. I pretend not to notice. I do notice, however, that the teacher has written the date on the board.

September 13.

Of course.

I'm putting my books in my locker before lunch, when a long arm appears to the right of me, partially trapping me in between it and my locker door.

"What do you want Dylan?" I say, not even having to look to know it's him. It's now Friday again, a week from the awkward fight with my mom, and four days since I last talked to Fang. Every day this week, Dylan's been cornering me at my locker before lunch, just to bug me, I think.

"I was just wondering about this Halloween dance coming up," he says with a sparkle in his eye, as I now see when I turn to look at him.

"Yeah, what about it? It's like a month and a half away."

"So you wanna go together?" He asks. I think he expects me to be shocked, but I just sigh. I'm not surprised, with the way he's been acting around me lately.

"It's not even a date sort of dance, Dylan," I shake my head, grabbing my lunch out of my locker before shutting it and starting towards the cafeteria.

"Better tell that to Sam then, he was planning on asking you."

That, on the other hand, _does_ shock me.

"Why in the _world_ would he do that?" I ask incredulously, too astounded to keep my usual suave self.

Dylan snorts, "You can't seriously say you haven't noticed he has the hots for you."

I'm still staring at him, wide-eyed, "_Sam_?"

Dylan rolls his eyes, "Yes, Sam. I think he was going to ask you today. Better break the bad news to him before he has his heart broken, thinking you don't want to go with him."

"Wha- but I don't," I say before I can stop myself. Dang it, I didn't mean to say it like _that. _It's just, Sam and I have been friends since the sixth grade. Best friends, actually.

"Oh no," I groan.

"What?" Asks Dylan, chuckling. I turn to my left, instead of heading into the lunch room. Leaning my forehead onto a random locker (yeah I know unsanitary), I say:

"How the heck am I supposed to face him now?" Now that I know he, as Dylan so elegantly put it 'has the hots for me.' I briefly consider blaming Dylan for this new problem, since he was the one who _told_ me after all, but realize if what he said is true, I was going to find out today anyways. I hear footsteps near us and remember that I still have to go to lunch. I groan again.

"Hey, it's okay," Dylan says, placing a hand on my shoulder, _not_ being a pain in the butt for once-until he starts talking again, "Just go out with me, then he won't be a problem."

I almost smack my head against the locker I'm leaning on, but turn to look at Dylan instead.

And freeze.

Ah, crap.

Over Dylan's shoulder, I see Fang standing a few feet away, staring at us- and by the looks of things, he heard the last few words of our conversation.

_Oh no_, he doesn't think we were talking about _him_, does he?

Wait, why the heck would it matter anyways. It doesn't Max. Think about something else…uh…tacos?

Fang walks towards us, and start to brace myself, not wanting to have to talk to him _again_. Until he stops in front of us and says, "Could you please move, that's my locker."

"Oh, uh," I say, oh so coherently, frozen to my spot.

"Look," he says, sighing, "I don't care about whatever it is"- he waves his hand around-"you guys were talking about. It's none of my business. I just need to get to my locker."

I look away from him and make a split second decision. I grab Dylan by the arm as I walk away, pulling him with me as I knock shoulders with Fang on my way out. We're just entering the cafeteria when Dylan says, "So I'll take that as…a yes?"

"Just shut up Dylan," I growl, heading over to our lunch table.

"Oo, touchy," he mumbles.

Nudge and Tess are already sitting down, along with Sam. I don't see Ella until I scan the rest of the lunch room for her. I grit my teeth when I realize she's sitting with Iggy. At _Fang's_ table. I sit down in a huff, barely noticing Dylan take a seat next to me. When I look up I see Tess looking at me, concern on her face, and realize I probably have obvious anger written on mine. I blink once, slowly. Okay. Not a big deal. These are my friends. Friends=good. Good=nice.

I breathe out once, and turn to smile at Nudge.

"Where were you two?" She asks, trying to sound nonchalant, but I can hear the slight edge to her tone. I suddenly realize I'm sitting next to Dylan. I discretely scoot away from him a couple of inches.

"Apparently, Sam likes me," I say exasperatedly, avoiding the topic of Dylan and I, alone, together. I mean not like _together_ together, like…okay you get the point.

Tess bursts out laughing, "You just noticed?" I frown, pointing to Dylan.

"Dylan told me," I say, hoping that will quell Nudges curiosity on that subject.

"Really? You mean you didn't know before?" She says, still laughing.

"Know what?" Asks a voice from behind me, I turn my head and see Sam, looking at Dylan sitting beside me. They have a silent stare down before Sam awkwardly moves to the other side of the table to sit next to Tess.

"What didn't you know?" He repeats. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Fang sitting down with his friends. Wait, just now? That would mean him and Sam came into the lunch room at the same time…

"Oh, nothing, just some girl issues," I say. Sam raises and eyebrow, "With Dylan here?"

"Like I said," I say, "Girl problems." Sam and Tess laugh, while Nudge grins a little bit. Dylan just sighs beside me, holding his heart in mock agony.

"Oh Max," he says, "Your piercing words stab me to the soul."

I roll my eyes, "Nice, Shakespeare," I call him. He looks at me, this time a genuine smile on his face. I gulp nervously- I uh, I mean hungrily. Yeah. Hungry. It's lunch time.

"So I'm thinking we can all go shopping together after school today," butts in Nudge randomly.

"Shopping," I moan, "Why?"

"We have to start looking for our Halloween costumes now, duh. I have no idea what we should do since you rejected my idea of being princess's."

I hear Dylan snicker next to me and put my hand in his face without looking to shut him up. Nudge, blabbing about shopping and no longer paying attention to the blonde male beside me, doesn't see when he grabs my hand from in front of him and pulls it under the table with his- intertwining our fingers.

I gasp and wrench my hand back, jumping up from the table.

"Fine, fine, I'll cross hippie-chicks off my idea list too," says Nudge, mistaking my reaction.

Dylan seems genuinely surprised now, and cocks his head as he looks at me, as if trying to figure me out. Hah. Good luck with that.

Then he smiles a quirky smile and I say, "I'm not hungry. I, er, forgot I have to- talk with a teacher about, uh, something." And with that I dash off.

"This isn't over Max!" I hear Nudge call behind me, and my stomach drops, "I will find us the perfect Halloween costumes, if it kills me!" I roll my eyes, but am relieved that she's only talking about the dance and not Dylan and I.

Once I'm out in the hallway, I lean against a locker, staring at my right hand as I clutch it with my left.

"Dylan tried to hold my hand," I murmur to myself, affirming what just happened.

"Dylan held my hand," I say, louder as the gravity of the situation hits me. I'm just about to go wash of the invisible evidence in the bathroom, when I hear a voice beside me.

"Well, good for you," Says Fang, only a foot away from me. What the- how did- when did he-?

"Are you stalking me now or something?" I say, honestly worried that might be the case.

He snorts, "Don't flatter yourself. You're in front of my locker. Again."

I turn my head to glance at the locker behind me and find that it is indeed the same locker as before.

"Crap," I say under my breath, and Fang chuckles behind me. I move to go to the side just as he goes to move away from behind me, to let me pass, not expecting me to go the other way. We end up face to face, barely an inch between us. Crud.

All playful-ness is out of his face, and his expression looks just as surprised as mine. I feel the heat rush to my face, much to my dissatisfaction. That is _not_ the reaction I'm supposed to have when near to him in proximity.

I quickly take a step back and walk past him shakily. Turning back I see that he hasn't move, and rush to the bathroom to wash my hands off, and also to restart my brain again.


	6. Don't Cry Over Spit Milk

**Heyo! Sorry I didn't mention before, but I don't update on Sundays, so to make up for the fact that I forgot to tell you guys, I'll be posting another chapter later today (as soon as I write it, haha). Just barely finished this chapter, so enjoy! It's Fang POV and shorter, again, but the next one will be regular. Oh, and I have some pretty good idea's for some coming chapters...hehehe...so stay tuned!** **As always, RnR! Thanks:)**

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 6_

_Don't Cry Over Spit Milk_

Yesterday was the first day I've talked to her since Monday. Teasing her everyday just doesn't have the same thrill to it when I know that's what she wants me to do. Part of me can't help but wonder why we're playing by her rules- I mean, I could've said no, but I didn't, and that doesn't exactly comfort me.

I don't know what I was thinking anyways. _There's something between us_? Where did that come from? I just don't even know.

I'm waiting for Angel outside of her dance studio where she takes ballet. I've turned my motorcycle off for now, so I'm only leaning against it as cars pass by every few minutes. The dance studio is actually just a renovated house, so it's in a neighborhood sort of setting. I guess it shouldn't surprise me when the object of my first thoughts comes down the road- albeit what she's doing most certainly _does _surprise me.

What in the world? She's in the middle of the road, but she isn't driving a car or anything. She's walking her dog. Wait- dog? I didn't know she had a dog. Or a giant malamute at that. I blink.

And she's roller blading?

Let me tell you, you will never see a stranger sight than Maximum Ride being pulled down the middle of the street on roller blades by a giant dog. Well except for maybe when she suddenly freaks out, yelling, "Ari!" and jumping into the arms of a muscular guy you didn't see before. He chuckles, holding her upright on her roller blades as she hugs him tightly, the dog sitting a few feet away, still attached by the leash.

This is the sight that greets me, along with the nagging feeling that she _has a boyfriend_. Some secret boyfriend I didn't even know about. No wonder she didn't want anything to do with me. And did she dye her hair or something? I don't remember her having any magenta streak in it before.

My confusion is interrupted as Angel calls out my name. My eyes flick to her and watch as she checks both ways before crossing the street to me. She hugs me much like I watched Max hug _that guy_ a few moments earlier. Now they are talking and smiling, and the dropping feeling in the pit of my stomach is anything but comforting.

Wait- dropping feeling? What? Since when did I care if Max had a boyfriend? I struggle to erase every thought that has gone through my head in the past minute, just as Angel says, "I didn't know Max had a boyfriend?" She's looking at the couple now as well.

"Huh," says Angel. When I look back down at her, I notice she's been staring at me, almost like she's trying to gauge my reaction. I grunt and get on my bike, handing her a helmet before attaching my own. She looks at me a second longer before getting on behind me.

Boyfriend.

Boyfriend.

_Max_'s boyfriend.

For some reason that bothers me a lot more than watching Dylan flirt with her at school. And _that_ fact bugs me even more.

I glance at the two of them as I drive by. My eyes meet Max's just as she looks up from petting her dog, and I stare.

She looks at me vacantly. Blankly. Then looks away as if we don't even _know_ each other. As if I didn't just watch her reunite with her secret boyfriend.

I look back at the road ahead of me, driving home in robotic mode. I know Angel notices something is off. She's perceptive like that. I'm sitting on the couch later that day watching some name-less show and wallowing in self pity for no reason, when Angel flops onto the couch next to me.

I glance at her briefly before taking another sip of my root beer.

"So are you jealous now that Max has a boyfriend?"

I almost choke on my beverage, gulping it down hard which makes tears sting the back of my eyes.

"Ehem," I say, trying to clear my throat and dispel the awkwardness that has descended upon us like a blanket. Or at least, that's what I thought. Angel seems to have something else in mind as she repeats her question:

"Did she turn you down? You confessed, right?"

"What?" I sputter before regaining my composure and taking another, slower, drink from my root beer, "I have no idea what you're talking about." Her face seems to fall.

"Lame. Why didn't you confess?"

"And what might I be confessing, may I ask?" I say, setting my drink down on the coffee table.

"Your undying love for her, duh," she says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. Is it that obvious?

Wait- what? Undying love?

"I think you've been reading too many romance books," I say, shaking my head, "I'm not in lo-ove with Max," I almost choke again on the word.

"Could've fooled me," she mutters, rolling her eyes.

"And just what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Like I said, it's obvious," she answers, "You guys always glance at each other when you think the other one isn't looking, you claim you hate each other, but go out of your way to see each other _just _to fight. There is obviously some chemistry."

"Angel, I think you're confusing _disdain _with _love_," I say, "And how would you know any of that other stuff? You're hardly ever around us."

"You kept doing it at the Fall Festival, discretely enough that only _I_ noticed, which says that you've had much practice."

"Max and I haven't spoken in four days," I point out, before I remember that we sort of spoke yesterday, but only because it was necessary, which I refrain from telling Angel.

"Four days, huh? Sounds like someone's been counting," she says, and I immediately feel the heat rush to my face. I hardly ever get embarrassed over these sorts of things, so I know I need to get out of this, and fast.

I reach for my root beer and make as if I'm going to drink from it, 'accidentally' letting my hand slip and splashing it on the front of my shirt.

"Dang," I fake swear, and get up to go to my room and change. One ruined T-shirt is better than Angel thinking there's anything between Max and I. What was she even trying to get at here? Get me to admit I like a girl who is obviously unavailable? Sadist much?

And it's not like I even like her anyways. She made it pretty clear that she doesn't even want to be friends, let alone something more- thus, the boyfriend. I can't help but think back to eighth grade. Something I haven't done in a long time.

_Flashback- Eighth Grade- January 11: The First Time I Spoke to Max_

_Apparently Rachet liked some girl in our science class, Maxine or something. I vaguely recognized her as someone I had seen in the hallway a few times in six and seventh grade, as she sits down across the table from Rachet and I. I know it's her by the way he stiffens beside me when she takes her seat, a girl I know named Tess sitting next to her, along with an African American girl. _

_ Max has dirty blonde hair that sits on her shoulders, slightly curly but in a natural way. I only notice this because Rachet usually goes for more superficial girls. She has mischievous chocolate brown eyes that twinkle as she sits down (man I sound like such a wuss, dang those Eighth Grade Poetry courses). She's got a little bit of freckles across her nose, and a nice smile. She looks to be about five foot six, pretty tall for a girl._

_ As soon as the three girls sat down across from us, the total boy population of our table (which is the entirety of it) went silent. Three girls intruding on the testosterone barrier. I watch as she assumes a casual manner, talking to her two friends as if sitting with us is an everyday thing. Man, she's good. She doesn't look fazed at all, while next to me Rachet seems ready to wet his pants. I can't help but be intrigued by her- Rachet knew he could probably get any girl, yet he wanted this one, why? There must be _something_ special about her._

_ Slowly, the guys around us drift back into their previous conversations when they determine she isn't a threat. Max throws a smile Rachet's way, confirming my suspicion that she must like him back in some way. I hear him gulp, and reach down for his chocolate milk box. He starts to drink from the straw nervously, and suddenly I get an idea. He's gonna be indebted to me after this- man, I'm such a great friend._

_ Reaching over, I try to grab his drink from the table in front of him, while he's still sipping through the straw. Unfortunately, I underestimate the flimsiness of the box, and it crushes easily in my hand, spewing the milk up into the straw much faster than Rachet can take in. _

_ And then, he explodes._

_ Literally._

_ Well, okay, not literally, but since he can't drink all that chocolate milk at once, his mouth is quickly filled and milk comes spewing out of it at an impressive propulsion. Its trajectory goes straight forward, right into…Max's face. _

_ Since she's sitting directly across from him, she barely has time to scrunch her eyes closed as she's showered with chocolate milk, all over the front of her shirt, in her hair, and some splatters her two friends on either side of her. _

_ Okay, so my idea may not have played out as planned. Instead of watching my best friend and his crush languidly sip chocolate milk together, I watch as though through a slow motion camera. Max rears back from us, standing away from the table and opening her eyes to see the destruction the chocolate milk as reigned (and rained…haha). Laughter has burst out all around us, and grows in volume as the surrounding tables get an eyeful of her. She stares in shock at herself, then at Rachet across from her, narrowing her eyes._

_ "What the crap was that for?" She demands, her furious gaze now on me. _

_ "I, uh," I say hesitantly, not sure how to explain my intentions gone awry. I'm saved as next to her Tess cries, "Ugh! I got some in my mouth!"_

_ Max angrily grabs some napkins from a guy next to her -who is too entranced with the whole situation to notice her thievery- and stomps off, wiping her face as her two friends follow after her. Once she rounds the corner to the bathroom, I hesitantly look back at Rachet, who hasn't moved since the whole fiasco started. He's staring off into space, a traumatized expression on his face._

_ Okay. So maybe I'm not the best friend ever._

_End flashback_

**_Haha, so there's a nice flashy for ya. Just a shout out to _****_those who commented since the last chapter:_**

**_BlackH00di3:_****_ Haha! Thanks! Nice reference to the story too;)_**

_**maximumgirl23306**__**: Yep! And there's still A LOT more to come! Stay tuned:)**_

**_thatflyingbrunette_****_: I like your pen-name haha. Thanks for the compliments and high five for Googoo Dolls! Iris is my favorite song, so I'm glad you like it._**

**_RainbowReads_****_: Thank you! And yeah, haha, I'm hoping if I update every day I will be able to get more reviews;) Next chapter, coming right up!_**

**_Keep reading and fly on!_**

**_-Tatertotrocks_**


	7. Who Am I?

**Okay! Just as promised! Chapter 7. I warn you, it's a little intense. Max's life isn't as normal as she thought it was, eh? Anyways, RnR. More AN at the end of the chap. **

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 7_

_Who Am I_

Man. Monday _again_?

Okay, okay, I know Monday comes every week, but still- that doesn't mean I have to _like_ it.

I spent my weekend completely lazing around after I did my homework. I didn't have work since I went in on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings late last week. It was a nice break. Probably should have gotten up and gone skateboarding or something, but my inner cave-woman overruled any movement desires I had.

I pick up Nudge from her house. We carpool on the days her mom has the car, so Nudge doesn't have to ride the public bus. Since our school is so small, we don't have school buses. But even if we did, I would probably still pick her up.

Every one knows how wonderful the school bus is.

"So I decided we can go shopping this weekend, since you bailed out on the last one," says Nudge.

"Oh dang, I'll have to skip out again," I say, faking sadness as we stop at a red light, "I have to work."

"Oh yeah?" She asks, "What time?"

I grumble at how easily I am caught, "Nine to noon," I say.

"Ha!" She says victoriously, "Obviously we can go after that. We'll have all day to start looking for Halloween costumes!"

I groan. _All day_ shopping? To _start_ looking for costumes?

"Tess already said she's free all day, so I'll just pick you guys up at…one? Yeah that'll work. Then you'll have enough time to get ready when you get back from work-" I scoff at this, like I need that much time- "and then we'll go to the mall first, obviously. If we can't find anything there, then we can go to the Halloween store, and then some outlet stores I found the other day when I was shopping- _alone_, might I add, since a certain _someone_ was…hey are you even listening to me?" Nudge says, waving a hand in front of my face.

I blink and roll my eyes, "Nice, Nudge, wave your hand in the face of _the driver_, that's safe. And of course I was listening, I'm just really good at _looking_ like I'm not."

She pushes my shoulder playfully, and we both laugh, "Hello? Driver anyone?" I tease her again. We pull into the parking lot, and lo and behold, a sleek black motorcycle pulls up next to us. Awesome.

"I wonder how Gazzy get's to school," says Nudge as we watch Angel and Fang get off the bike. Apparently Fang didn't notice that he parked right next to me, cause he doesn't even glance as he walks past us to the school. Angel, however, see's us and waves as we get out of the car. She waits for us as we walk over in the same direction.

"Hey Max! Hey Nudge," she says, "So Max, I didn't know you had a boyfriend!"

I rear back, "Wha- Boyfriend? What boyfriend?" I ask, honestly. Oh no, Dylan didn't…

"You know, that guy you were with by the Dance studio the other day. He's not your boyfriend?"

I look at her, totally confused, "Okay, I'm totally confused right now. What the heck are you talking about?"

Angel rolls her eyes, "Don't play coy, Max. I saw you when I got out of dance yesterday. You had roller blades on and you were hugging this big tough-looking guy, oh, and there was this pretty dog too…" She trails off as she see's my face, still stretched into total and complete confusion.

"You really don't know what I'm talking about?" She asks.

"Angel…I'm sorry to ask this, but…did you take brownies from any strangers this morning?" I ask, now worried.

"What? No! I'm totally serious! You can even ask Fang, he was there, he saw you too," she insists.

I shake my head, "I didn't go anywhere this weekend. Or do anything. Much less meet a secret boyfriend." I ignore Nudge next to me, who is now complaining about the fact that I totally _could_ have gone shopping with her.

"But, we _saw_ you," says Angel, in a small voice.

"I don't know who you saw," I say seriously, "But that wasn't me."

* * *

I'm putting an apple in my locker when I notice a letter sitting precariously on one of the shelves, as if someone dropped it in there. I look around suspiciously, trying to see if the culprit could be near. Tess and Nudge are standing to one side of me, talking about our weekend plans. Nudge notices the letter in my hand.

"Hey, what's that?"

I shrug, "I don't know, I just found it sitting in my locker." I stare at it.

"Well," Tess says expectantly, "_Open_ it."

I comply, and they bid me to read it out loud. I look around the hallway to see it is mostly deserted before starting:

"_Dear Max,_

_ I know you probably hate my guts, but I just wanted to tell you that I'm not finished with what I said the other day at our conversation. I still have a lot on my mind, and I think you do too. Meet me in the teacher work room after school tomorrow, so we can figure this out together. "_

"Wow," Exclaims Tess, "Who is it from?"

"It doesn't say," I say weakly.

"You don't think it was Dylan, do you?"

"No," Nudge cuts in, "I know his handwriting, and this isn't it." She shakes her head.

"Well who else have you had meaningful conversations with in the near past?" Tess asks.

I pause for a moment, not sure what to say since neither her nor Nudge know about my talk with Fang. Apparently I don't need to say anything since Tess continues, lighting up like a lightbulb.

"Oh, I know! Nick!" She says.

"Uh, no. This doesn't sound like him at all," I say honestly. But who the heck else could it have been from? Who would think I hate their guts-

Oh.

"Sam," I say simply, dread filling my stomach.

"What? Sam? When have you had a conversation with him that we don't know about?" She asks curiously. I let out a relieved breath when I realize she's right.

"I haven't," I say, "So it couldn't have been him either."

"Well," says Nudge, stroking her chin cheekily, "I guess there's only one way to find out, isn't there?"

Tess nods, "You'll have to meet him after school like he said in the letter."

"What? I am _not_ going to go meet some strange guy- alone- who wants to profess his love for me," I say indignantly.

"Who says he wants to profess his love? Maybe he just wants to tell you how much he hates you back," says Tess jokingly, "And don't worry, we'll wait nearby so we can hear you if you scream."

"Thanks," I say dryly, "That makes me feel so much better."

"Come on Max," says Nudge imploringly, "Don't you want to find out who this guys is?"

I think for a moment, "Hey, maybe if we pretend I never saw it-"

"Awww you're no fun," says Tess, "If you don't go, then we'll go in your place and tell him you were too nervous to go yourself, since that's obviously the case."

I huff, "Fine! I'll go!" Nudge and Tess high five.

"I'm going to class," I grumble, leaving them to their girl-talk on who my prospective secret admirer could be.

* * *

It's two oh' four right now, four minutes after school has ended. Tuesday. I'm in the teacher work room, listening to the tell-tale noises of the copy machine and the teacher's fridge whirring. Nudge and Tess are around the corner outside, standing by the drinking fountains in the freshman hall. I tap my fingers on the large table in the middle of the room, leaning back on a chair and staring at the ceiling. It's after school, where the heck is this guy? I've got soccer practice in ten minutes.

I hear the door open and turn my head to the side to see my visitor. I internally groan when I see that it's just Fang. Man, this is awkward. Hopefully he leaves before secret letter dude- as I've dubbed him- gets here.

"Max?" He asks surprisedly.

"No Luke, I am your father," I say sarcastically.

"That would be pretty messed up," he says, "Although I could see you as Darth Vader-" I roll my eyes- "But seriously, why are you here?"

"If you can believe it, a secret love-letter is to blame," I say nonchalantly.

He stares blankly for a moment, before getting a weird look on his face, "That was you?" He asks incredulously.

"What do you mean? What was me?" I ask.

"You were the one who wrote me the love letter in my locker?"

"What?" I say, taken aback, "No, I'm waiting here to meet who ever it was who put a letter in _my_ locker."

We stare at each other, "Oh crap," We say simultaneously. He rushes to the closed door, trying to pull it open. It's now obvious what's happening when we here an angelic (literally) laugh from outside. The door won't budge, signaling that it's been locked from the outside.

"Dang it," says Fang.

"Well this is unexpected," I say, "What the heck does your sister want us locked up in here for?"

"Who knows?" He groans, "She may be Angel, but she can be the devil when she wants to be. It's probably just to torture us."

"Well, it's not like being locked in a stuff workroom is my favorite thing in the world," I say, "But I wouldn't go as far as saying being stuck in here with me is _torture_."

Fang looks at me, seeming to realize that I am offended, "That's not what I- You know what? I have a cell phone, I'll just call somebody to come get us." He reaches into his pocket, then sighs when his hand comes out empty.

"I knew she was being particularly huggyy today."

"Don't worry," I say, "I've got mine."

I then remember I left mine in my back pack, which is currently outside with Nudge and Tess. Fang see's my disappointment as I hang my head defeatedly. Then I stop.

_ "_Wait a second," I say, snapping my fingers,"Tess and Nudge!"

I walk over to the door and shout, "Hey Tess! Nudge! Let us out of here! It was a prank!"

Silence.

"Oh no they didn't," I say, mostly to myself as I realize that they so _did_. They _left_ me. I briefly added 'search market for new best friends' onto my list of upcoming priorities.

"Do you have any idea at all why the heck she wanted to trap us in here?" I ask.

Fang looks thoughtful for a moment, "I might…" He says, as though entertaining an idea in his head.

I look at him expectantly, raising an eyebrow. He sighs, "She was pestering me the other day about you- when we saw you outside the dance studio with that guy."

I sigh exasperatedly, "This again? I told her already, that _wasn't_ me. I didn't leave my house the whole weekend. It must have been someone who looked like me from a distance, so you mistook her for me."

"I wouldn't do that," he says, then quickly covers it up with, "Besides, it wasn't 'from a distance.' I was only a few yards away."

"So, what? You're accusing me of lying?" I say angrily, "If you want proof, then ask my mom and Ella. Heck, I don't even roller blade _or_ have a dog. And I definitely _don't_ go around hugging people. So you need to get over yourself and admit that you don't know me as well as you think you do. It was probably _someone else_, and you _thought_ they were me."

"No way!" He says, tone now matching mine, "I could _never_ mistake anyone else for you!" He says, then immediately turns red- a rare sight I must say- when he realizes what he said.

It would be romantic if, you know, we _weren't_ talking about my supposed dopple-ganger, and, you know, there _were_ romantic feelings involved.

Fang runs a hang through his hair, and then freezes, as if remembering something. He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out what looks like a photo.

"Here," he says, handing me the picture, "Your proof. Angel said she went back yesterday and saw you again-" I glare at him- "if it _was_ you, and she took this picture for proof."

I look down at the picture to see myself in the most ridiculous get up ever. I'm wearing a One Direction t-shirt, from what I can tell, and red skinny jeans. Roller blades that are black and purple are on my feet, and I'm holding a dog leash attached to a large white malamute. I have a smile on that I have never made in my life, and a magenta streak runs down one side of my straightened hair.

Except that, you know, it _isn't_ me- and I have never done _any _of those things, or dressed like _that_ in my entire life. Much less dyed my hair.

"This isn't me," I say firmly, although I'm shaking now. Fang reaches for the picture, but I grip it tightly and start backing away.

"Look," I say accusingly, "I don't know what you're trying to pull here, but it's not funny. In fact, it's sick."

Things are flashing through my mind as if on hyper speed.

Fake.

Dopple-ganger.

Clone.

Twin.

Twin.

No way. That wouldn't even make any _sense. _All I know is that right now I need to get out of here. I notice Fang is reaching toward me and I panic. Rushing to the door, I start pounding on the door.

"Let me out!" I shriek, surprising even myself.

"Let me out let me out let me out let me out-" suddenly the door flies open and a terrified looking Nudge is in front of me.

"Look Max," says Tess from next to her, "We are so sorry, Angel said that Dylan and Iggy were in a fight and so we ran over and-"

I don't let her finish, instead dashing out past her and down the hallway. I briefly hear Nudge ask, "What did you _say_?" to Fang before I'm out of hearing range.

I rush to my car, hands shaking as I start up the engine, pulling out quickly and driving ten over the whole way home. I park the car and don't bother locking it as I run up the porch stairs and to the front door. My mom is in the kitchen, and looks up, surprised, as I rush through the door way, out of breath.

"Honey, what are you doing here? Don't you have soccer practice?"

All I do is slap the photo down on the counter in front of her, face-up. I haven't let go of it since Fang handed it to me.

"Who. Is. That." I demand. I notice she has gone white as a ghost when she see's the picture. But she doesn't say anything. Just stares at it.

And stares.

And stares.

"Oh no," I almost don't hear her say. Almost.

"Who is she?" I yell, "You know, better yet, who am I? Who are you?" I shove myself away from the counter, glowering.

"Max," she starts shakily, "You might want to sit down for this."

"No!" I shout, and she flinches, "I'm not doing anything you say until you tell me what's going on."

"Max, I'm sorry," she says, pleading, "I never thought I'd have to tell you."

I stare.

"I'm sorry," she says again. Now she's crying, "You're adopted. I never knew you had a twin. I never thought I'd have to tell you."

I stand there, the world before me fading in and out as her words echo inside my head.

_Adopted. Twin. Adopted. Twin._

I bolt.

"Wait! Max!" I hear my mom yell after me as I run out the door, leaving it open as I dash down the steps. I run out into the middle of the street, narrowly missing getting hit by a motorcycle. It skids to a halt and swerves around me. I keep running.

"Max!" I hear Fang yell from behind me. I run through the nature park across the street from our house. I don't really know where I'm going. It doesn't matter. I just run.

I get to the edge of the park and turn left onto another neighborhood road, not really sure where I am, but I keep running. I can hear Fang behind me, so I make a split second decision. A chain link fence separates me from someone's back yard. I climb over it inhumanely fast- I decide later- and land with a thump. I roll over to stand and come face to face with-

A mirror.

Myself.

My…twin.

Well crud.

It's the girl from the picture, magenta streak and all. With _my_ face. Suddenly the other me is shrieking, and I launch myself away from her. She's staring at me and pointing, screaming.

"Who are you?" She screams, voicing my own thoughts. In _my_ voice.

"Max!" I hear Fang yell, and look over dazedly to see him on the other side of the chain link fence. Just as I turn back around to face the other me, she pounces on me. I hear Fang cry my name again as my head is slammed against the ground.

"Who are you?" She is screaming as she repeatedly pummels her hands against my chest. I feebly try to block the blows, still in shock. I feel something sharp below me, and realize that she knocked me into some sort of pot or vase on the edge of the yard, causing it to shatter.

As if she reads my mind, her hand grasps one of the pieces as I try to hold her wrists at bay- but my muscles are still partially locked and she's practically foaming at the mouth. The hand holding the shard slips out of my grasp, and my hand hits the ground above my head as she slams the shard into my forearm. I scream. Loud. Blood curling. Cause that hurt like crud.

The pain seems to finally knock me out of my trance, and I use all my strength to buck her off of me, so she lands a few feet away, shard slipping out of her hands. I jump on her, so our positions are switched, and pin her hands down as she snarls at me. Blood is dripping down my arm, and it feels weird, almost numb…

Behind me I vaguely hear a thump that I assume is Fang dropping down on the other side of the fence. I also hear a sliding door open, and shouts that become incoherent as I start to black out. My arm feels cold, and I feel myself being lifted into the air by a strong, familiar pair of arms.

I see an unfamiliar guy now restraining the other me as she tries to come at me again. Then she's sideways and I feel an arm underneath my back as well as my knees. My arm flops over my chest and I stare at it dazedly as the bright red substance ruins my shirt.

That probably won't wash out…

Darkness.

**So, yeah. Now we know who the mystery-me is, sorta. Don't worry, it will all be explained in the nxt chapter. And if you are wondering why her twin goes crazy when she first see's Max, that will be explained in the next chapter as well. Just thought I'd add more drama into the mix...haha.**

**Reply to RainbowReads review:**

**Thanks a mil! Yep. You are right. It will all be explained in the next ****chappy, like I said. Oh and the flashback from the previous chapter is titled "Eighth grade" cause I'm trying to give you an idea of the timeline of things. Max and Fang met in eighth grade, so that flashback was the very first time they ever interacted with one another. Freshman year is when they start fighting (With the september 13 thing from the other chapter). So yeah. Hope that cleared it up for ya. Thanks again for the review!:)**


	8. Heart to Heart

**Yo yo yo! (You know I'm so cool, haha). Chapter eight! This is more an info chapter versus the last one which was more...well...crazy? This chapter actually doesn't explain the whole twin thing yet, but some other stuff instead. And a nice valium sceneXD Next one's a Fang chapter and it will have more explanation. Plus Fang's thoughts on a certain...matter...discussed in this chapter. Enjoy!**

**RnR, :)**

**And here we go...**

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 8_

_Heart to Heart_

Hmmm.

Bubbles.

I blink my eyes open, and stare at the ceiling above me. Am I laying down? Oh, yes. It seems that I am. I try to move my body, but something is holding my arms and legs down. I hear a beeping noise beside me start to speed up.

Hehehe.

Silly beeping noise.

Suddenly a face appears above mine and fades into focus. I think that's my mom.

"Mam?" I ask. Hm, for some reason that doesn't sound right.

"Mom?" I try. Still doesn't sound right. I scrunch my eyebrows and then smile widely.

"Valencia Ride," I say, proud of myself for remembering her name. I hear something that sounds like a choked sob from the face staring at mine. I squint again. Valencia Ride. Valencia Martinez. Maiden name. Hm…these words sound funny.

"Don't worry Mrs. Ride," says another voice. I look over to my right and see a prune-y man in white clothes. An Angel? No. Hey, Angel, where is she? Why did she lock me up with Fangy in a roomy room? Mean. Mean Angel, "She's just still under the affects of the anesthesia. It should be through her system in about a half hour."

"Anestesia, Ane….Anes….Anastasia!" I shout the last one. I like that word. What was it again? Some princess who crashed a ship into an iceberg?

"Hey lady!" I say to the Valencia woman, she stiffens like a stick and looks at me, "Are you Anastasia?" I ask. She quietly excuses herself from the room. Hey, where is she going? I can hear you! Oh, I didn't say that out loud. The prune-y angel leaves too. I frown. Hm. This is boring. I wish Fang was here.

I hear the door open again and see him walk in. I smile widely at him. I'm a wizard! I wished him here and now he's here.

"Heeeeeyy Fangy," I say. He looks at me weirdly.

"Uh, hey," He says. I start to giggle. "What's so funny?" He asks, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"I'm magic!" I yell, and he nearly jumps in surprise, "I wished-ded you here, and then you were here!"

"You wished I was here, huh?" He says coyly.

"Hey, why are my arms strapped down, I can't move them. Hey…..Hey!" I yell. Fang stands up and heads to the door.

"Nooooo! Fang don't leave!" I call to him. He steps outside for a moment, but for me it's like, seven moments. Way too long.

"Okay," he says, sauntering back in. Hey, is he trying to seduce me? Doesn't he know you shouldn't seduce sick people? Wait, am I sick? That must be it. That must be why I'm here with the angel prune.

"The doctor says I can unstrap your arms, but you have to stay in bed," I pout but nod my head. That's no fun. He unstraps my arms and I go to scratch an itch that has suddenly appeared on my forearm.

"Don't touch your arm," he says, "You just barely had stitches."

I am still reaching for it. Who is he to tell me what to do? Silly Fang, I'm Raximum Mide! Wait…

He grabs my hand just as I'm about to itch my arm, and pulls it towards him. I grin at him sillily.

"Faaang, why are you holding my hand?" I sing. His face turns red. Hey, is he sick too?

"I'm just making sure you don't mess up your bandages," he says, scratching his head. Hey, why does he get to scratch and I don't?

"Uh uh uh," I tsk, "I know why. It's cause you looooove me." He stiffens.

I flutter my eyelashes at him.

"I, uh," he says.

"It's okay, cause I love you too," I say, rubbing my head against his arm affectionately. I look up to see him staring at me, wide-eyed.

"Hey, your face is all red!" I laugh, "If you're sick like me then we can be sick together!" I say cheerily, "You can stay in my bed."

"Ummm…." he says, sounding very un-Fang-like. He runs a hand through his hair, and I find myself wondering if it's just as soft as I always imagined. I reach up my bandaged arm and run my fingers through his hair sloppily. It push it all to one side to see if it will stay. It doesn't. Now Fang's looking at me weird again.

"Fang, you're so mean," I say suddenly, frowning.

"Wha- how am I mean?"

"You always say things to me that are mean and go out with all these other girls even though we love each other. That's so meeeaaaannn. And then you come and visit me and hold my hand. I don't want to be a mistress!" I cry. Suddenly I realize how much this upsets me, and I am crying. I hear a doctor come in and ask Fang if he wants to leave since I'm being 'hysterical.'

"Fine, go Fang!" I yell, "Run away to your seventeen wives like you always do! It's not like I wanted you here anyways." I frown and turn away from him, letting go of his hand.

"Oh, jeeze…" he says, "Look Max…I…"

"No Fang, I don't want to hear it. Talk to my foot," I wiggle my foot at him and harumpf. Suddenly I feel very sleepy and I yawn. I wonder if you can make lasagna with kiwi's…

* * *

So here's the thing about anesthesia: you still remember everything you did while you were under. That can be a good or bad thing, depending on the situation.

I can't really think of anything good about this situation. In fact, I'm still confused.

So here I am pondering my purpose in life, when Ella walks in. I'm sitting up now, so I can see her fully.

"Hey," she says softly, and I can already tell by her demeanor that she knows everything.

"Hi," I say. I feel insecure around her right now, which has never happened before.

"So…are you adopted too?" I ask her, trying to pull it off as a normal question.

"Nope…" she says, and laughs awkwardly, "I'm still the illegitimate child."

I guess I never told you about that. Didn't seem relevant to the story. Guess it kinda is now.

Ella's dad is some unknown guy out there in the world who my 'mom' had a fling with after my dad died when I was two. But I guess that was all bogus since I'm adopted. She has probably never been married. I always asked her about my dad when I was little, and as I got older I thought that she just didn't want to talk about him and the death and all.

Like I said, bogus.

"Did you know about…me?" I ask, afraid of the answer. Were both of the most important people in my life lying to me? I feel tremendous relief when she shakes her head.

"I guess it makes sense though," she says, "Why I was never as pretty as you."

I laugh humorlessly. As easy as sarcasm comes to me, I can't really joke about this situation. I don't know how. It's not funny. Of course now that I know I'm not really related to her, I realize how different we do look. Her naturally tan skin, while I have to spend the summer outside (not that I mind), my blondish hair versus her dark hair. We have the same brownish eyes, but her build is more petite than mine; more like my mom's.

"If it helps at all," she continues, "I still think of you as my older sister and best friend. Nothing is going to change- if you don't want it to." I nod my head and close my eyes. When I open them, I'm surprised to find tears there.

I let out a curt laugh, "I don't know why I'm crying." I look over at Ella and see that her eyes are wet as well. I realize that what I was most afraid of was losing the ones I care about. I haven't talked to my mom yet, but as mad at her as I am, I don't want to lose her. She's still my mom, biological or not.

Ella moves to sit on the bed next to me, and we share a heartwarming hug. I'm not going to entertain any of the sarcastic thoughts that run through my head as we clutch each other like the sister's that we are, no matter our blood.

"What time is it?" I ask. She pulls out her phone and glances at it.

"Eight forty three," she says, hesitating before she starts to put it away.

"Let me guess," I say, "Texting Iggy."

She grins, "You know me too well. But I can answer him later."

"No, no," I say, wiping my eyes, "I need something to get my mind off of all this craziness. Just read me your conversations or something."

"You are so taking advantage of this, aren't you," she says, looking at me pointedly. I shrug innocently before replying with a knowing smile, "Maybe."

We spend the next hour reading and reviewing her texts/relationship with Iggy. I find myself enjoying the strangely girly activity. After a while, I see her yawn and tell her to go home and get some sleep, as I've been sleeping all day so I'm not really tired. She reluctantly leaves, and I smile softly as I see my next visitors.

"Nudge, Tess," I say to them. Tess sighs in relief while Nudge bursts into tears.

"We were so worried!" She balls into my good arm, sitting in the chair next to my bed. Tess opts to sit on the bed with me where there is room for her.

"Oh come on," I answer, trying to call back my inner Maxness. I gesture to my injured arm, "It's just a flesh wound."

Tess laughs a courtesy laugh while Nudge continues to sob harder; I pat her back awkwardly.

"Hey guys-whoa sorry I'll come back later," Says an embarrassed looking Dylan.

"No, it's okay," I say, "You can come in." I know it's selfish of me, but I don't want to have a chance to be alone with him later. Plus, this way he can see a different side of Nudge. A true side of her that is caring and compassionate for her friends. And hey, I just got the biggest shock in my life along with a major stab to the arm. I deserve to be a little selfish.

He shuffles in awkwardly, obviously out of his element with crying females. His hair looks slightly ruffled from its normally well styled hairdo, some blonde strands falling forward onto his forehead. For some reason I feel more alert right now, like I'm noticing more.

He takes a seat at the end of my bed, a few feet from Tess.

"So how's the arm?" He asks, "Did they have to make you part cyborg?"

I smile at his attempt at humor, "Pretty much. Next they'll have to give me a robotic heart."

"Oh no," he feigns horror, "Giving Max something she doesn't have already. How horrible."

"Haha," I say, but I'm glad that at least one person is treating me the same as always, despite what's happened.

"So do you think you'll be able to go to the Halloween dance?" He asks, I see Nudge perk up at this, but I'm surprised when she says:

"Max! You have to go! Oh my gosh they can't make you stay here for another month can they? What will-"

I cut her off, laughing to myself, "Nudge, I'm sure I'll only be in here for another few days, max." (Haha, 'max.'….okay never mind)

She sighs, "Good. I don't want to go without you." For some reason this warms my heart especially. Me not being there would have been the perfect opportunity for her to hangout with Dylan unhindered by my presence, and I don't think it's just my bed-ridden state that makes her want me to be there.

"Of course I'll be there Nudge," I look up at Dylan and see him watching me comfort Nudge. Then I realize what that must look like to him, and know my earlier plan is back-firing.

"Huh, I guess I won't be able to play soccer for a while," I ponder aloud, "I wonder how that'll work."

This time Tess answers, "I think I hear your mo- er…umm…"

I nod at her, "My mom….?"

"Uhm, yeah, she's been calling the school and stuff to let them know you'll be absent. I think she told your coach too."

I nod, staring off into space. Then I remember something.

"So about Angel's trick earlier…" I trail off when I see their embarrassed faces.

"A trick?" Dylan asks.

"Yeah," I say nonchalantly, scoffing, "For some reason she locked me and Fang in the teachers lounge together."

"Why were you guys in the teachers lounge?" He asks quickly, "Uh, I mean, that's none of my business so if you don't want to tell me-"

"Angel wrote us secret admirer letters that led us to the same place," I cut him off, not wanting any rumors to somehow spread about _that_. There would be enough about me now as it was. Besides, I still have what happened with the anesthesia thing to deal with first…ugh.

"Wow, that's…." Dylan starts, not finding a suitable adjective for the event.

"I know," I say, then I turn back to Nudge and Tess.

Tess sighs, "While we were waiting for you, she came and told us that Dylan and Iggy had gotten in a fight, and said she would stay for you while we went and handled it."

"Whoa, Iggy and I, fighting? No way, we're bro's," says Dylan, "And why would she send you guys to handle it?"

Uh oh, I know for a fact that Nudge isn't ready to have _that_ conversation-

"I like Iggy," says Tess, and I gape at her. It was a good cover, but how could she say it so easily? Almost as if it was true…

"Oh," says Dylan, "That's rough. I mean because of…"

"Yeah I know," says Tess, "Him and Ella. But it's okay. I'll get over him."

Wait, Tess likes Iggy? Since when? And he likes Ella…my sister… oh man. This is complicated. Darn those freaking hormones.

I don't apologize, cause that would be stupid, and Ella is happy so I'm not sorry. But Tess is my best friend too- man, what the heck? Her love is almost as hopeless as mi-

As, uh, mickey mouse?

Yeah, I know. You can't blame me for trying though.

Suddenly the chorus to "Photograph" by Nickleback starts playing and we all watch as Dylan fumbles with his phone before answering it.

"Hey ma," he says. I stifle my laughter, _ma? _"Yeah? Yeah okay. Okay. Love you too, bye."

He looks back at us after hanging up, "I have to go home..so…what? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"You like _Nickleback_?" Asks Tess incredulously, "Sorry dude, but you just lost some major hotly points in my book."

Dylan chuckles, "Forgive me if that doesn't hurt too badly," he says honestly, and then looks at me, curiously.

"I like Nickleback," I say simply.

Nudge laughs heartily, strangely fine with this whole thing, "Of course you do. You're also the only person I know who can listen to any music on the radio. Switching from the rap station to the country one and then hard rock to gospel all one song after another."

"Hey," I shrug, "I like all types of music."

Dylan grins and shakes his head, "Well, I gotta go. See you later?"

I nod, smiling back. About an hour later, I shake Nudge awake from where she's fallen asleep beside me, halfway through Tess's story on her and Iggy.

Apparently she's liked him for two years now, but could always tell he never thought of her that way. After a few short stories about why she liked him, she decided her and Nudge should probably get going.

"I don't mind if he knows now," finishes Tess, "Tell Ella if she finds out that I'm not going to try to steal him or anything, okay?"

"Of course," I say. After the five minute process of waking Nudge, she stumbles out the door with Tess, leaving me alone to my thoughts.

Questions I have:

did mom adopt me?

can she have a maiden name if she was never married?

…

is my twin? Where is she now? Why did she attack me?

. about her family

long do I have to sit here for?

…Fang…

**_So yeah... replies to chapter 7 reviews:_**

**BlackH00di3:**** Is that a good wow...? If so, then yay! If not then..well...it will get better I promise!**

**RainbowReads****: I hope this chapter answered some of your questions from the last one:) Thanks for the ****loving****' on the 'mysterious max'! She is mysterious isn't she? Oh and about my updating- I update everyday except Sunday's, but I don't have any chapter's pre-written. I just write them everyday as i go along. I do have some ideas of what I want to happen though...And the reason there were two yesterday is because I forgot to mention to people that i ****don't post on sunday's so they were all left hanging. I tried to make that up by doing two chapters in one day. Thanks for reviewing!**

**-Tatertotrocks**


	9. Max: Origins

**Okedokie! I promise this is the last chapter before we get back to all the regular life stuff and Faxness. It's a Fang one, so it's short. I do a Fang POV every third chapter, but I'm also wanting to add an occasional outside POV on the whole relationship and story. Who's POV would you like to see most out of these people?: Ella, Angel, Dylan, Iggy, or Tess? Let me know! And RnR on the chap! Replies to reviews at the end of the chapter.**

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 9 (Fang POV)_

_Max: Origins_

When Max goes back under after the whole loopy thing, I stare at her for a moment as she drools on her pillow, and then shake my head at the whole situation. Outside the room I see the guy who was at Max's twin's house. He's sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting room, looking worried.

"How's Max?" He asks me when I come by, standing up. He's taller than me, and from what I can tell he probably hits the gym for a few hours every day. I narrow my eyes.

"What's it to you?"

He looks a bit taken aback by my tone. Well, I'm not just going to discuss Max's well being with some random guy who's with the girl that put her in the hospital. And who was this guy anyways?

"I'm sorry," he says, "I'm just worried about her. I know Maya did some damage- I, uh, I'd like to apologize for her."

"Maya?"I quirk an eyebrow, "Is that Max's….is that her name?"

"Max's twin? Yeah."

We stand there silently for a few moments, before he holds a hand out, "I'm Ari, Maya's brother."

"Nick," I say, shaking his hand curtly. He gestures in a question for us to sit down, and I shrug. I take the seat one away from his.

"I guess I should try to explain," says Ari, and I almost snort from the obviousness of his words. But I don't, because I'm still not sure if this guy is friend or foe.

"When I was seven, my dad got married to a woman named Marian Janssen. She's Max and Maya's biological mother. After they were born, Jeb and Marian started to have some…disagreements on raising the two children, and decided to get a divorce. The custody battle awarded them each one of the girls. Marian left and took Max somewhere, and we hadn't heard of her since until a few months later when she disappeared off the face of the earth, in a freak experiment at some lab she had started working at. Jeb looked for Max for over a year before he found her through the child services program she had been placed in- but she had already been adopted. Turns out Jeb knew Valencia Martinez from college, as she had married his best friend.

He went to visit her once using the excuse of wanting to see that friend- Alex Ride- but upon visiting found out that Alex had died in a car crash and all his wife had been left was their adopted child. He knew he couldn't take Max away from her, and saw the connection they already had, so he didn't say anything and left Max in the care of the more than capable Valencia Ride," Ari sighs and doesn't notice my shocked expression at this story, "That was around the time when Maya started to exhibit some problems."

"Problems?" I ask.

"You may be wondering why Maya freaked out so much when she first saw Max."

"Of course."

"Maya suffers from psychosis. We aren't sure of the cause, but any time we've tried to place her in a normal setting, she's lashed out and caused problems, so we keep having to move. It's alright though cause Dad is an actuary. He can work anywhere."

I look at him incredulously, "You just keep bringing her to more places for her to wreak havoc on? It's not okay for someone to just attack people! No matter the reason!" I'm angry now. His crazy sister hurt Max, and he's claiming that this is normal, and he's never done anything about it?

He winces, "No, no way. Maya has never just attacked someone like that before. She usually just freaks out and causes a scene. The shock of seeing herself in someone else must have been too much for her and she snapped," he sighed, "I'm sure my dad's paying for the damages she did to Max, and Maya will finally have to go to a facility- despite our efforts."

"Yeah, well now Max is probably going to be traumatized too. You know this isn't easy for her either, right? She just found out she's adopted, has a twin, _and_ a crazy one at that. Not exactly every girl's dream." Not even someone as crazy as Max. Although I'm starting to rethink my definition of crazy.

Ari leans over his knees, putting his face in his hands, "After all our efforts," he mutters to himself, "We just have to commit her to an insane asylum in the end anyways."

I suddenly soften. I can see him now as the protective older brother- I know how he feels, I have Angel, "You really care about her don't you?" I say softly.

"Of course I do," he looks up from his hands, "I've never wanted anything more than for her to have a normal, happy, carefree life. Without all the psychotherapy, pills, and people always staring at her all the time. I'm her only friend, and although I don't mind, I just wish she could have somebody else too."

I pause in my reply, "So…everything you've ever done, you've done for her?" He nods.

"How old are you?" I ask.

He looks confused, "Twenty four- why?"

"You've never gone to college? Been in any serious relationships?"

He chuckles, but shakes his head, "Every girl usually get's scared off when they learn about Maya, but I guess that just means they weren't the one anyways. I could never give up Maya."

We both sit there silently, each mulling over our respective Batchelder twin. A few minutes later, I can hear shouts coming from a room down the hall. One of the voices I distinguish as Max's mom, and I assume Ari recognizes the male's voice as we both jump up from our seats and run down the hallway.

From the doorway looking into an empty hospital room, I can see Dr. Ride looking furiously at an older man with glasses who I assume is Jeb Batchelder. Dr. Ride is yelling.

"I don't care who you are! That was a closed adoption! I'm not letting anyone who's related to that psychopath near my daughter. She's already had enough damage!"

The man across from her looks ruffled, but replies, "I only want to make sure she's okay- she's my daughter too."

"You gave her up!"

"_No_, my wife gave her up!"

"It doesn't matter, I'm the one who raised her! I'm the one who loves her…" She trails off and I can see she's started to cry.

"She's mine!" She yells suddenly, "You can't have her! I don't care how much she hates me!"

Ari and I lock eyes from beside each other, and decide this would be a good time to intervene before things get to crazy. I step quickly to Max's mom's side, stiffening and patting her on the back awkwardly as she sobs her face into my shirt. I'm not really sure how to react, and I'm sure if she saw who I was she wouldn't be so eager to cry on my shoulder.

I see Mr. Batchelder and Ari getting into a heated discussion on the other side of the room now.

"Look Dad, I love Maya too, but we can't do this forever! You know the court won't let us go unless we put her in a facility. I've worked just as hard as you to make this work, but it just_ isn't_."

Mr. Batchelder sighs defeatedly, after what I can only assume is due from years of stress over his daughter. He nods silently and Ari pats his back, much like I am doing for Dr. Ride. I'm surprised though when he comes over to us- Max's mom doesn't see him at first because her head is turned away towards me.

Instead of talking to her though, he turns to me.

"What's your name, son?"

"Nick Walker, er, sir," I answer. He nods at this.

"You brought Max here?" I nod hesitantly, "With Ari," I add.

"Well, you make sure that you continue to take good care of her. Even if I didn't raise her, she is still my daughter and I still love her. She needs a good man in her life."

Wait a second, he sounds like he thinks I'm her…

"As her boyfriend, you can do that for her," he continues. I attempt at correcting him.

"Er, uh, Mr. Batchelder-"

"I know, I know, after seeing her crazy background, you might be afraid of staying in her life, but if she is a true Batchelder, you won't ever do better than to stay by her side."

I open my mouth to protest again, but then think, eh, what the heck?

"I know. Of course sir," I say. He nods and looks like he's about to say something to Dr. Ride, but shakes his head instead and heads out the door, Ari trailing behind him. Max's mom gathers herself up, reaching for a nearby tissue.

"I'm going to see my baby," is all she says. I'm left standing alone in an empty hospital room with a half soaked shirt and only half an idea of what just happened.

**So there ya go! In case you are wondering, this whole Fang POV is happening after Max falls back asleep on anesthesia and before she gets any of her other visitors. **

**Okay! Reviews!**

_**RainbowReads**__**: Don't worry! I promise Faxness is coming soon:) I have some good plans for their relationship (in my opinion, haha). I might put in some stuff for Iggy and Ella and Tess, but it's **__**ultimately**__** a Fax, Eggy, and Nylan fanfic along with some additional side pairings. At least, so far...I might **__**randomly**__** change it but I like those pairings. Thanks for reviewing once again!**_

_**xxsmileyme123xx:**__** Haha! Yep! The bird poop hit the fan (cue pun). Next chapter comes tomorrow! :)**_

_**Bird Kid Max: **__**Heyo new reviewer! Thanks for the compliments! I update every day, so yeah:)**_

_**BlackH00di3**__**: Haha I like replying to peoples awesome comments! I'm glad it was a good 'wow,' I was kinda like, "oh dang, I hope I didn't mess up," haha.**_

_**desperatelyobvious: Haha...Nickleback...haha. Don't worry, Dylan's still pretty manly. I was **_**_trying to make the whole anesthesia thing kinda like in the actual books, we all know we wished there would have been more valium-ated Max, hahaXD Let's see how this plays out, shall we?_**

**_And also to my _****_anonymous guest reviewer!:_****_ Thanks so much! I hope you like the twists and turns to come as well!:)_**


	10. Back to Normal Life For now

**Hey guys, chapter 10 for ya. Still needing some more feedback on POV preference before I make a decision, so for those who haven't answered, who's POV would you like to see the most?: Ella, Iggy, Dylan, Maya, or Tess? RnR! :)**

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 10_

_Back to "Normal" Life...For Now_

A few days later, they let me out of the hospital. My last day there, Nudge and Tess brang Lissa, Rachet, Star, Holden, Kate, Iggy, and Sam to visit me, along with Ella and Fang. Fang and I didn't really get a chance to talk though, since everyone else was there. Angel apologized for locking Fang and I in the teacher workroom (although she didn't explain what her intentions were…).

The first thing I did when I got home was take a shower, which is no small chore since I can't get my arm wet yet. It's a Saturday, but I'm stuck doing homework that Tess and Nudge have been bringing me from my classes. Luckily, they're here with me so I don't die of boredom.

"Once again, we'll have to miss out on shopping today," says Nudge. My mom won't let me go anywhere yet, and her telling me so is the only interaction we've had since we got home from the hospital. She's had to work double shifts at the vet clinic since she kept taking time off to visit me in the hospital (which visits I missed- due to sleeping. Hey, you'd be exhausted too if Nudge was talking your ear off for hours on end).I heard the whole Maya story from Ella, who heard it from my mom, who heard it from Fang. It's weird to think that they've been talking.

"Ahh, thank you mortal knife wound," I say dramatically. Nudge pokes me in the shoulder.

"You know, it's not really that mortal of a wound, and it wasn't a knife," says Tess.

"Yeah yeah, knife, insanely sharp piece of Italian vase, same difference."

"Ahh, good old snarky Max. Well at least we know your personality didn't drain out with all that blood you lost."

"Eww you guys, let's not talk about Max's blood," says Nudge.

Tess rolls her eyes at Nudge's squeamishness. "So did they put your twin person in that Psych Clinic?" She asks.

"Maya?" I say, "Yeah. Apparently there's this whole big deal about it. The person in charge there is wondering how in the heck she was never committed before."

"Hey, that's what your mom said too," says Tess. We hear a knock at the bedroom door and Ella peaks her head in. She glances at Tess for a moment before looking at me.

"Hey Sis, I made some chocolate chip cookies downstairs if you want some."

"Cookies?" I almost shriek. I haven't had chocolate chip cookies for nearly five whole days. Stupid hospital food. I leap up unannounced and rush past Ella into the hallway, nearly banging her into the wall. I jump down the stairs with my signature leap at the end, and run into the kitchen.

"Cookies!" I squeal, and reach for one on the cooling rack, shoving it into my mouth. Nudge and Ella come into the kitchen just as I start jumping around, yelling, "Hot hot hot!" With my mouth still full.

"Max, those were still cooling down!" Says Ella.

"Just spit the cookie out!" Says Nudge.

"Never!" I try to say, but then realize she's probably right, and I can always make Ella bake more cookies to make up for one lost one.

"Hey guys, Nick's here so I just let him in and- whoa, what are you doing Max?" Says Tess, stopping at the kitchen entry-way with Fang. I freeze. Both of them are staring at my attempt to spit the scalding cookie onto a paper plate I retrieved from the cupboard.

"Oh that is gross," says Tess, eyeing the chewed up cookie on my plate, "Excuse me while I go puke."

I take the plate and toss it into the nearby garbage.

"Uh, hey," I say to Fang. Nudge and Ella are watching our interaction with interest as I casually lean against the dining room table, awkwardly crossing my arms over the gauze.

"Hi," he says, eyebrow quirking as he tries to hold back his smirk. I can feel heat starting to rush to my face, so I reach over to grab another cookie from the cooling rack.

"Seriously Max?" Says Ella, "Have you learned nothing? They're still cooling."

I pout and turn back around, reprimanded. Nudge nudges Ella and says, "Oh, hey, we should probably go check on Tess. Ehem." Finally Ella seems to get the hint, and they steal out of the doorway, leaving Fang and I alone in the kitchen. Ahh dang.

And I can't even eat a cookie to comfort myself.

"Mr. Low gave us our timeline grade," he says, and that's when I notice the blue piece of paper in his hand.

"Oh," I say, and he hands it over. I scan down the various section scores to see that the final score is a big red 'A+' with 'Good team work' written next to it. I almost laugh at the irony.

"Anyway," he says, "I just wanted to say thanks for finishing that up even though Iggy and I left."

I shake my head, "No, it's me who should be thanking you. So, you know, thanks for bringing me to the hospital instead of letting me bleed out on Maya's lawn."

Fang gives a small smile, giving my heart a small squeeze. Wait, what? Uh…that must be the delayed reaction from the burning cookie…yeah…

"I didn't really do anything," he says sheepishly, "We used Ari's car."

We both stand there awkwardly in the following silence.

"So, uh, how's that arm doing?" He asks.

"Oh, it's, uh, it's good," I say, "Hard to shower though, you know, I can only use one arm and that makes it really hard to get to my back with the- uh- why am I telling you this?" I laugh awkwardly after my rambling, looking away. When I finally turn to Fang's face again, I see his cheeks are tinted in pink. Why…- Oh. I'm stupid.

Me.

In the shower.

Mom always told me guys were really visual. I slap my forehead internally, berating myself.

"Yeah…" he finally says, "That, uh, that must be hard."

I nod. Man, why must things be so…

Suddenly I remember another thing we should probably talk about, as much as I hate to admit it.

"So," I clear my throat, "About the, er, anesthesia incident…"

"Wait, you remember that?" He says, "I didn't think you would remember, since you were all drugged up and all."

I cringe when I realize that I _totally_ could have pretended to not remember. Stupid, stupid Max.

"Uh…well…" I say lamely.

"What about it?" He says, raising an eyebrow. Now he's smirking his typical Fang smirk. Does he really not take this seriously?

"Well," I say, straightening up, "I just wanted to say to forget anything I might've said. I was really out of it and totally not myself. So yeah."

"So what you're saying is, you didn't mean anything you said," he says, smile turning into a straight line. Oh so _now _he wants to be serious.

"Er, well, it's not that I didn't mean it, more like I just didn't mean it _that way_." I say, emphasis on the last words. It's a complete lie, but what else am I supposed to do? Confess my feelings for him? Nuh- uh. I am not in the mood to be rejected right now.

"I see," he says, "I guess I'll just go then. See you at school."

I watch as he turns and walks down the hall. After I hear the front door shut, I turn to my cookies.

"Man I thought he'd never leave," I pick one up and breath it in, "Alone at last," I say, blocking out any thoughts on the retreating Fang. I can faintly hear his motorcycle as he starts it up, but block out any other sounds by finally shoving a now-warm cookie into my mouth, chewing loudly. About a minute later, Ella comes in.

"Drowning your sorrows in cookies, I see," she says.

"Really Ella? We both know I eat cookies regardless of how I'm feeling. Besides, what would I have to be sorry about?"

"Turning Fang away, obviously."

What? "I didn't turn him away, he just wanted to show me our history grade."

She rolls her eyes, "Why would he drive all the way to your house just to show you your history grade?"

"It's not that far," I say defensively.

"Regardless, that's not what he came for. I was listening," she says, a smile tugging at her lips.

"Why you…I mean, tch, like I care. It's not like we said anything interesting."

"No?" She says, raising her eyebrows, "_I'd_ like to know about this 'conversation' you guys had at the hospital. _That_ sounds interesting to me."

I sigh. Might as well get this over with, "I sort of said some things that I didn't mean to. Drugs and all."

"What sorts of things?" She asks curiously.

"ThatIIovehim," I mumble. She squints at me.

"What was that?" She says. I exhale loudly before repeating myself.

"That I love him?" I say nervously, looking away. Suddenly Ella shrieks.

"Oh my gosh! You finally told him? Nudge! Tess! Come here! Max confessed!"

"Hey wait-" I try interrupting, but Nudge and Tess come running into the kitchen.

"What is it?" Says Tess, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong! Everything is _right_!" Screams Ella joyously, "Max confessed to Nick!"

"_What_?" Yell Nudge and Tess simultaneously.

"Finally!" Says Nudge.

"Seriously!" Says Tess.

"Guys! What the heck are you talking about? I never said I liked Fang!"

"You didn't have to," says Ella, the three of them finally calming down a little.

"Yeah, it's obvious. We always knew," says Nudge.

"That's ridiculous," I say, crossing my arms, "I don't like him, so you're all freaking out over nothing."

"Au contraire," says Tess, "We know you do!" She starts dancing around the kitchen, grabbing hands with Nudge as they swing in circles.

"I don't like him!" I say, trying to be heard over their incessant chanting of 'Max likes Nick, Max likes Nick.'

"Oh, right. Sorry Max. We know you don't _like_ him," Ella puts in, and I sigh, relieved that someone gets it.

"You're in love with him!" She yells, causing me to pale. She stars dancing around the kitchen with Tess and Nudge, now singing 'Max loves Fang, Max loves Fang.'

"What are you guys, five?" I ask, but no one gives me any heed. "Seriously, even if that _were_ true- which it isn't- it would not cause for this much…_excitement_."

"No need to deny it," says Ella, "Besides, I've had to listen as you've complained about him for _years _without saying anything. This totally qualifies as freak out worthy."

Nudge and Tess nod enthusiastically, done with their teasing (hopefully) and looking at me now. I look back and forth between the three of them before finally hanging my head.

"I'm not going to hear the end of this, am I," I say defeatedly. Nudge squeals again and hugs me.

"I knew you guys would eventually end up together. It's like Pride and Prejudice- all misunderstandings until you realize you're soul mates!"

"What? No no no," I protest vehemently, "One, have you even read that book? And two, we aren't even together."

Nudge looks at me, confused, "Wait…but…didn't you confess?" Then her eyes widen, "Did he reject you?" She suddenly shouts incredulously.

"What? No.. I… he didn't…like I'd actually confess!" I say, "It was all just a big misunderstanding at the hospital cause I was on anesthesia and he was there and I said something that _might_ have qualified as a confession _if_ I had been aware when I said it," I take a deep breath in after I finish my rambling.

It takes them all a few moments to get it, and finally Tess says, much to my disdain, "Okay, mission number one: Get Max to confess her love and _finally_ get together with Nick."

"Yes!" Says Nudge, and Ella nods, adding, "I like it. We need a codename for it though so we can talk about it when we're at school and stuff."

"Oh yeah, good idea," says Tess. They all stand there tapping their chins as if thinking, and I watch, too exasperated to even protest anymore. I know full well that they are too far gone at this point.

"I've got it!" Says Nudge, "Operation !"

"What? Mr. Lick?" Asks Tess confusedly.

"No," says Nudge, " - as in, Maximum Ride's Lovelife Inept Challenge!"

"Hey, I resent tha-" I start to say, but am cut off by Ella.

"Hey, I like that, strangely enough," she says.

"Me too," says Tess, " it is!"

Face-palm.

* * *

I'm almost sure they've forgotten about it (or at least that's what I keep telling myself) until lunch on Monday. It's only us girls, Dylan and Sam suspiciously absent.

"So," says Nudge, glancing around warily before leaning forward, "About our plans…" dangit, "Ella has a really good idea she shared with me that I think we should use." I briefly wonder when in the world they talked about this, and offhandedly question to myself if they've talked about Iggy at all.

We all look at Ella- who is actually sitting with us today instead of with Iggy- and she grins evilly. I choose not to comment.

"The Halloween dance," is all she says. Nudge's eyes widen.

"That is _so_ perfect! We just need to make sure Max gets a super hott-looking costume," she says.

"You _guys_," I groan, "What does that even _mean_?"

"Obviously," says Nudge, "We'll set you guys up at the Halloween dance."

I open my mouth, but before I can say anything, Tess says, "You're _not_ getting out of it."

"Come on! Don't _I_ get any say in this? It's _my_ love life!"

"Nope," says Ella, "If it were up to you, you guys would never get together."

"Yeah," agrees Nudge, "Besides, we don't want you to mess anything up."

"What's this? Something about a match-making plan?" Says a voice from behind me.

"Dylan," is all I say in greeting. Tess and Ella lock gazes, panicked, before Nudge says, "It's girl stuff. You don't want to know."

"Oh really? Why wouldn't I want to know about-"

"Ugh!" Says Tess, "Stupid cramps!"

Ella pats her on the back soothingly, playing along with the little charade, "It's okay honey, we'll get through this." Jeeze, she sounds like a mom.

"Uh, oh, well, I'll just, uh, go- then," says Dylan embarrassedly, quickly walking back the way he came.

Tess sits up straight from her bent-over-in-pain position, "Works every time."

"You guys are so evil," I say, implying Dylan's uncomfortableness, "And I thought I was mean to guys."

"So," says Nudge, ignoring me, "We should go shopping this Saturday for Max's sexy Halloween costume."

I throw my head back and my hands up in the air, "Why?" I ask the universe.

* * *

"Did you talk to Nick at all this week?" Tess says while examining the price tag on a Cleopatra costume. We are currently at the mall ('store-hopping' as Nudge calls it). She makes an 'eek' face and turns away from it, now looking at some white go-go boots.

I think for a moment, "What constitutes as talking- cause talked to him once for an english paper revision thing in class the other day."

Nudge rolls her eyes, looking at some animal costumes next to me, "Really Max? You didn't talk to him at all besides that _one_ time?"

"You are definitely not making our job easier," says Tess.

"Hey, I never agreed to this in the first place. And besides, we'd probably just end up fighting again anyways," I say, murmuring the last part to myself mostly.

"Have you ever tried to have a normal conversation with him?" Asks Ella, as she comes out of the dressing room across from us. Dang, how'd she hear that?

"I've never had a reason to- _what_ are you _wearing_?"

Ella gives a little twirl, "It's cat-woman, you like it?"

"More like s-l-u-t woman, take it off Ella," I say.

"Hey, maybe you should wear that Max," says Nudge.

"Yeah," says Tess, "It would definitely get Nick's attention." They both giggle.

I roll my eyes, "Nice, guys, that's totally the kind of attention I want to attract."

"She's right," says Ella, "It'd be too hard to keep all the _other_ guys away if she wore _this_."

"I'm pretty sure they wouldn't even let me into the dance," I say, "Now take that stripper get-up _off_." She complies, turning around and shutting the dressing room door.

"Do you think I'd make a good Dorothy?" Asks Tess, holding up a short white and blue checkered dress.

I shrug. Nudge answers instead, "That'd be _okay,_ but I think we can find something better."

"How about…Princess Leia!" Says Tess, switching the Dorothy costume out for a Princess Leia Dress, "I think it comes with a wig."

"Now we're talking," says Nudge, "You could wear those white go-go boots with it too," she gestures to the boots from before.

Ella comes out of the dressing room and resumes looking for costumes alongside us. After about twenty more minutes of searching, Tess purchases the Princess Leia costume, and we head on to the next store. Ella eventually finds a mime-costume that Nudge and Tess try to talk her out of buying, but she get's it anyway.

"Okay, if you're really fine with scaring Iggy away," I say.

"Hey, if he really likes me, it won't matter what I go as," she protests.

"The ultimate test of true love," I say, holding a hand to my heart dramatically.

"Oh my gosh," says Tess, making us stop in our tracks, "Is that Angel and _Nick_? Oh look, Gazzy's there too."

We all swivel our heads to see Fang, Angel, and Gazzy at a pretzel shop, just as they are handed their baked goods.

"Crap," I say, and look around quickly before dashing into the nearest store. I hide behind a clothing rack, and from where I am I can hear Nudge exclaim, "Hey, where did Max go?"

"Aw dang, how are we going to get her to speak with Nick if she keeps running away like that?" Says Ella.

"Shh, guys, Nick's coming over here!" Tess says, and I dead silence until a chirpy voice exclaimes:

"Hey guys!"- Angel-"Is Max here?"

"She was just here a minute ago," says Tess, "I think she may have gone to the bathroom or something. She kind of just disappeared." Agh, traitors.

"Really? Okay! I'll go find her. Fang! Come with me," she says.

"Wait- why am I going with you to the girls bathroom?" He speaks for the first time, and shiver goes down my spine. Oooh, er, this store is kind of cold…

"You aren't going _in_ there with me, we're just going to be searching buddies."

I can hear their footsteps as they pass my hiding spot, veering closer as Angel says in a low tone, "This way I can sneak off and leave you alone with Max."

I hear a sort of choking sound come from Fang, and am momentarily offended that I gross him so much that he gags at the thought of being near me.

"Er, uh, maybe we should split up then."

A brief silence as I wonder what kind of looks they're giving each other. Then Angel says, "Okay! I'll call you if I find her!" merrily before I hear what I presume is her skipping off.

"Never pegged you for the lingerie type, Max," I hear Fang say. I'm so surprised that I jump, knocking over what is _indeed_ a few lacey bra's. I stand up, no longer a point in hiding since it's obvious that Fang's found me.

Seriously? Victoria's secret? Of _course_ that was the store closest to me _right_ when I needed to hide. Fang's standing across from me at the threshold of the store, smirking (as always, it seems).

"Excuse me miss, are you looking for some lingerie with your boyfriend here?" A saleswoman suddenly says, appearing out of nowhere.

My face reddens as I realize what she's just asked, or said, or whatever- "Uh, no. I mean, he's not my boyfriend. I mean, I'm not looking for any-er- lingerie. Uh, bye." I say, grabbing an amused Fang by the arm before rushing out of the store and down the mall hallway.

"That was weird," I say, coming to a stop next to the cafeteria, letting go of my grip on Fang.

"Yeah," he says, humor in his eyes, "For some reason everyone thinks I'm your boyfriend."

"What? That's the first time that's happened."

"Oh..yeah…" he says, seeming to realize something, and scratches the back of his head, looking away.

"What are you doing here anyway?" I ask suddenly. He turns back to me, his dark eyes on mine.

"Angel just wanted me to come with her. Gazzy tagged along. Something about Halloween costumes or something."

"Oh, yeah," I say, glad to have a topic now, "Nudge and Tess and Ella dragged me here. They wanted to pick out costumes for the dance."

"Oh yeah," he says, "I forgot that was coming up."

I feel a victorious feeling rising up in me when I realize that he might not even _be_ at the dance, thus spoiling the girls' plans. I internally do a fist pump.

"So you're not going?" I ask nonchalantly, still rejoicing inside.

"Nah," he says, "I'll probably end up there just cause Angel wants me too."

My revelry is cut short at this new piece of information.

"Why?" He asks, raising an eyebrow, "Did you want me to come?"

"What? No," I say, then realize how bad that sounds, "I mean, yes. I mean, come if you want!" I decide finally, "I don't want to go except that the girls' are forcing me, so yeah."

"Oh, yeah," he says, a smile tugging at his lips. Er, mouth.

"Fang!" I hear someone shout. Fang and I both turn to see Gazzy fast-walking towards us. I sigh inwardly, relieved.

"Hey, Max," he says when he reaches us, nodding once. Then he turns back to Fang, "Where'd you go with Angel? It was like, one moment we're all getting pretzels, and the next you guys totally ditch me. What's up with that? And why are Max's friends all sneaking around like spies?"

Fang and I glance at each other before I say, "Welp, better go catch them before they leave me. Seeya!" I walk off down a random hallway, and my pounding heart gradually starts to calm down.

Not that it was pounding or anything.

I wasn't nervous, nope.

I hear Nudge's voice and turn a corner to see her and Tess and Ella in another store, looking at some Halloween costume.

"Were you guys even looking for me?" I ask as they turn to me. Ella shrugs.

"Eh, we knew Nick would eventually find you," she says, then see's my expression, "Oh he totally did, didn't he!" She grins.

"Yeah yeah. He found me, and then Gazzy found us," I say honestly, skipping over the part where Fang and I actually talked.

Her face falls, "Aw, dang," she says, then perks back up, "That's okay! We found you the perfect costume that will knock Nick's socks off at the dance anyways!"

"Oh no," I say, truly afraid at what the mischievous grins Nudge and Tess are sending me could mean. Slowly, they part, revealing said costume they found.

Oh.

_Oh._

**_BlackH00di3: I'm not sure on the Maya thing, probably! I have some idea's. Also depends on my question at the beginning of last chap:)_**

**_xxsmileyme123xx: Hey nice last chap in your fanfic! I read it and I really like where the story is going:)_**

**_RainbowReads: I'm not sure about Marian coming back- it depends on where the story goes...Thanks for the feedback and answering my question!:)_**

**_lucky alyssa: haha I like Nickleback too. Thanks for the feedback! _**

**_maximumgirl23306: well Max kinda found out everything in this chapter...so yeah:)_**


	11. Halloween Dance Part I

**Sorry guys, I know it's like evening now. I went to the skatepark earlier with my dad and so I've been writing this for the past couple hours. Here it is! RnR:)**

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 11_

_Halloween Dance Part I_

"I don't even look like me," I say. Tess scoffs from behind me, fixing her hair buns in front of Nudge's vanity.

"You're not supposed to," she says, "It is _Halloween_ after all."

"Well actually it's the thirtieth," I say, "Technically Halloween isn't until tomorrow."

Tess rolls her eyes and Nudge comes up next to me to examine herself in the sliding closet door mirrors. She is wearing a batwoman costume, complete with a black cape sporting the yellow batman symbol, as well as thigh high boots and arm guards with dull rubber spikes. A yellow belt goes around her waist above the short skirt part of her costume. She is currently checking her makeup and hair before she puts on her bat mask, which fits her face quite nicely.

"You know, it's unnatural how natural you look in that costume," she says, turning to me. I raise an eyebrow.

"That's a good thing," I hear Ella say from somewhere behind me in the room. Nudge turns to her vanity to fix up her hair again after putting her mask on, and Tess comes up next to me to survey her own outfit.

"Like a jedi, you look," I say in a bad imitation of Yoda. Tess grins at me in her Princess Leia costume, taking one of her fake guns out of it's holster and posing.

"My turn!" Says Ella, and I finally step aside so that she can see her reflection. She's wearing a chin length black wig and blue beaded headdress with Egyptian makeup to fit her Cleopatra outfit. Her dark bronze skin accents the white dress she is wearing nicely, with thick gold bangles on her biceps and a chunky jeweled half circle necklace completing the whole look.

"Man this is great!" Says Tess, coming up behind me with Nudge, "We definitely need to take a bunch of pictures before we leave."

I nod and glance once more at my reflection before heading out of Nudge's bedroom and downstairs to where her mom is reading in the living room.

"So? What do you think?" Says Nudge. Her mom turns and immediately grins.

"Hm, two super hero's and two princess's, very fitting," she says, "I haven't seen get-up like that in a long time Max. That character is from way back in the sixties. And I like what you did with your hair- and actually, I can only tell it's you because you showed up at my house with the others," she laughs.

What she means by my hair, is that it's a reddish strawberry blonde color (dyed temporarily, of course) instead of its normal dirty blond hue. It's let down around my shoulders and mask in big loose waves.

"Here, Mom, take our picture," says Nudge, handing her mom the camera from off the coffee table.

"You know, technically, I'm a queen," says Ella as we gather together for a picture- Ella and Nudge on the inside, with Tess and I on either side of them. Tess puts her gun up in the pose from before, while Nudge places a hand on her hip. Ella wraps bother her arms around Nudge and Tess's shoulders, while I grip my spike ball in both hands, turning slightly sideways.

"Nice to see you getting into character," says Nudge to me, winking. I roll my eyes but smile. Even though I would never wear anything like this normally, I am strangely comforted by the fact that no one outside of our group will recognize me.

Oh, and just in case you're wondering: I'm Hawkgirl.

She's a super heroine from the early comic books era, with the wings of a hawk and a mask to match. There are a lot of different clothing styles for her outfit, but the one that the girls found for me is the original. It's a yellow leotard with dark green leggings underneath, and a red set of spandex over the top of both, like a swimsuit bottom. A black belt with a silver ovular buckle is around my waist, and red boots adorn my feet and go up to my knees, with a yellow stripe down the front of each and on the front of the boot like a bird's claw.

The mask covers the top half of my face and my nose, where it curves like a bird beak. It's gold on the top, and black on the sides, where it comes up like hawk ears. The spike ball stick in my hand is gray and rubber with dull spikes, and it attacked to the belt so that I don't always have to hold it.

Oh yeah. And the wings.

The wings are a light brown color with specks of gray and tan here and there, and they actually feel pretty real (But don't worry, they are 100% fake). They're soft and stand in a partway tucked in position to my back, adding to the hawk effect. They're actually pretty big, the tops are level with the points on either side of my mask, and they go all the way down to brush the backs of my knees. I can't help wondering if I'll even be able to dance like this, but they don't feel very heavy on my back so hopefully I can manage.

The first trial is getting into Nudge's mom's car with them on. The wings are actually firmly attached to the outfit so that they don't shift, so I'm stuck in the backseat leaning sideways while Ella sits in the middle and Tess up in the front seat next to Nudge, who is driving.

Overall, I'd have to say that we all look pretty dang awesome.

We get to the dance fashionable late, around 8pm. The dance started about half an hour ago, but it isn't too hard to find a parking spot since half the people there are underclassmen. Everyone hops out of the car and I shimmy out, careful of my wings as Nudge says:

"Man, those things must be a pain in the butt. Can you imagine having to live with wings _all _the time?"

I shrug, and my wings move upwards with the motion, "If I could actually fly, I wouldn't mind."

"Oh yeah, ditto," says Ella, "Having wings would be _sweet_."

As we walk down the hallway to the gym, a figure in a white roman half toga comes towards us, as I soon recognize to be Iggy. I almost didn't recognize him at first with his hair dyed as dark as it is.

I smirk, "Huh, isn't it weird how Ella is Cleopatra, and Iggy just _happens_ to be dressed as Mark Antony?" I say sarcastically.

Ella rolls her eyes, "Actually, we _did_ plan it this way, in case you were wondering. Iggy wasn't sure what to go as, so I just told him what I was gonna be."

I wiggle my eyebrows, "I see."

They go off ahead of us into the dance, and Tess pulls her phone out of a make-shift cell holder on her belt next to her gun.

"Who you texting?" I ask.

"Holden. He was supposed to come as Han Solo, so I'm just letting him know where I am."

I stare at her, "Wait- seriously?"

"Yeah," she says, then see's my look and shrugs, "What? I decided to try and move on. Holden's a nice guy."

"Oookay," I say, turning to Nudge and raising an eyebrow, "Is there any other secret partner's I should be worried about?"

"Not for me," she says, and gives me a weird smile. I look at her warily.

"Okay, what's with the creepy smile? And why do I suddenly feel as if you've done something sneaky?" I ask.

She just shrugs and starts heading off into the crowd, "I'm going to find Dylan!" She calls back to me. I opt to stay with Tess, though I doubt Dylan would recognize me even if he did see me.

"So…" I say to Tess.

"Oh look! I think I see Holden. Meet us under the disco ball at 9pm, okay Max? I'll catch you later!" She heads off towards where Holden is supposed to be.

And then there was one.

Hey wait, what the heck? I thought we came to this dance together? What am I supposed to do for an hour while they all hang with their costume partners? (Or in Nudge's case, her 'crush.')

I head over to the food table. Hey, I think I saw some chocolate chip cookies there earlier.

About ten minutes go by as I hang out by the snack area, switching between fiddling with my spike ball, drinking the minimum amount of water possible (I do _not_ want to have to use the bathroom with _this_ get-up on. I don't even know how the heck I would be able to go without stripping down), and eating fig newtons (sadly, I was mistaken. No chocolate chip cookies).

"Hey, nice wings!" Says a voice from beside me. I turn to see a very appropriately dressed Angel beaming at me.

"Oh hey Angel, nice angel costume," I say nonchalantly. She has a fuzzy halo attached to her collar that hangs over her head, as well as sparkly fuzzy wings on her back (albeit much smaller than mine). She's wearing a white flawy dress to her knees, and her face and outfit are decked out in even more sparkles. _Lots_ of sparkles.

"Oh my gosh!" She exclaims as realization, "_Max?_"

I grin at her, "The one and only."

"Wow! I couldn't even tell it was you until you spoke! That's an awesome costume, who are you dressed as?"

"I'm hawkgirl. She's kind of older generation. We actually got it at the mall last time I saw you there."

"That's so cool," she says, then she gets a coy smile on her face, "So…you danced with anyone…_special _yet?"

I guffaw, "Hah, no. I haven't danced at all yet actually. Nudge, Tess, and Ella ditched me, like, as soon as we got here, so I've just been hanging by the snack table for the past half hour."

She nods generously and gestures around us, "Yeah, well this is where the cool people hang out, after all."

I grin, "Definitely. So have _you_ danced with anybody yet?"

She shrugs, "Not really."

Now I nod. We stand there silently for a few moments before she asks, "So how are things with the whole Maya thing?"

I actually appreciate the fact that she doesn't skirt around the subject, "Fine, I guess. I haven't met our dad yet, but that's mostly because my mom won't let me. I met her brother though, he seems like a really stressed guy."

"Yeah, that's what Fang said," she replies. This peaks my interest.

"Fang talked with Ari?"

"Yeah," she says, "Apparently Ari and Mr. Batchelder are pretty nice people and stuff."

"Huh," I say, still on the part where Fang spoke with my crazy magically appearing unknown family. Well, there go my chances of ever seeming normal to _him_. I can't decide if that's a good or a bad thing.

When I turn back to look at Angel, she's not there anymore, so I assume she went off to dance while I was in Maxworld.

I finally decide I should probably go take part in the party scene, and head over to the dance floor where the song "Ghost buster's" is currently playing. Someone's started a conga line, so I attach on to the back as it goes by. It takes me a few minutes of kicking left and right before I realize that no one else can join because my wings prohibit anyone from grabbing onto me from behind, so I let go and join the crowd once again.

I think I spot Ella and Iggy at one point, slow dancing as a fast song plays (_somebody's_ obviously entranced- or more like two somebody's, at that). At another time I see Nudge and try to make my way to her, until I notice Dylan standing beside her in a knight costume. He's scanning the crowd as if looking for someone, with her talking obliviously beside him. I turn away. I haven't seen Tess yet, but something tell's me she isn't in the gym currently, if you know what I mean (well actually, I don't really know what I mean either, but whatever).

When the hour hand on the gym clock finally hits the number nine, I slip around a few people so that I'm under the disco ball, and start looking around for my friends. I see someone come out of the crowd and walk towards me, so I squint trying to make out which of the girls it is in the darkened room. As I get closer, I realize that they are most definitely _not_ a girl, and a moment later realize exactly who they are.

Hawkman.

Great. What creepazoid thinks that we're soul mates now because of our matching outfits? I notice with relief that this guy has a black underarmor t-shirt under his Hawkman medallion, so he's not shirtless. And I also notice that he is actually really toned (at least by the looks of his arms). His mask, however, conceals his identity, much like mine, so I'm stumped as to who of my schoolmates he could be. Hopefully not a freshman, that would be _really_ awkward.

"Hawkgirl," he says suddenly, in a _really_ familiar voice, and then smirks a _really_ familiar smirk.

"This can _not_ be happening," I say, and inwardly cringe at how mean that probably sounded. Then I remember what Nudge said earlier-

_"__Not for me," she says, and gives me a weird smile._

No way. She did _not_ plan this. How in the world could she have planned this? But it would be just too coincedential for two people to come as conspicuous matching hero's. And romantic interests at that.

Oh, she so _did_ plan this. You know, Nudge really scares me sometimes. I bet this whole thing was a set-up. Now I just have to figure out if Fang knows anything about it. But by the look he gives me, I don't think he does.

"_Max_?" he says incredulously.

"Heh," I say weakly, "Funny meeting you here, eh?"

I swear I almost see him gulp, "Uh, yeah. Angel told me to meet her under the disco ball at nine."

"She did?" Okay…who the heck wa_sn't_ involved in this plan?

He nods. "Huh," I say. Then the DJ starts speaking into the microphone.

"Okay! This next song is a special request. It's a slow song, so everybody partner up!"

I inwardly groan at how I'm going to get off the dance floor with all the dancing couples around me. I turn to look to the side and find a way out. The song hasn't started yet, so maybe I can just-

"Hey," says a voice from behind me. I turn to see Sam standing there, dressed as Zorro. Does he recognize me?

"You want to dance, angel wings?" He says. Okay, he most definitely _does not_ know it's me, otherwise he wouldn't have said that out of fear of being kicked where it counts by yours truly. I open my mouth to give him a reply, but before I can, Fang suddenly appears beside me and says:

"Sorry, but she's already dancing with me," he gives Sam a firm look, but doesn't glance at me. Sam looks between us, suddenly noticing that our outfits match, and probably assuming we're here as a couple (ah, crap). He nods, "Course dude," and turns back into the crowd.

I turn to Fang and give him an accusing look. He surprises me by just shrugging and holds out a hand.

"You want to dance?" He asks nonchalantly. I stare at him. He raises an eyebrow.

"I, er," I start, but then just think, what the heck, and place my hand in his. I ignore the shock that goes through my system at the touch, and place my other hand on his shoulder, my fingertips brushing his wings. I turn my face to the right, not really sure what to say to him.

The song finally starts, and I freeze up when I realize what it is.

Well played Nudge (and whoever else was involved in this), well played.

**You can look up Hawkgirl and Hawkman on google images if you are interested in what they look like. **

**...**

_**lucky alyssa:**__** thanks for the feedback! I'm not sure who I'm gonna do a POV for yet, Maya might be kinda hard since she's crazy, but we'll see! Still a few more chapters before I add anyone else in.**_

_**maximumgirl23306**__**: well you are the second person to say Maya, so i'm definitely thinking about it. Oh and as you probably just read in the chapter, Max's **__**outfit**__** does indeed have wingsXD**_

**ChiVall**_**: hey! I actually already had that planned as Nudge's costume, so you were sorta right!**_

_**zroc: Haha, what? I'm not sure what that means...haha but thanks!**_

_**xxsmileyme123xx**__**: Okedokie! I was thinking the same thing, since Maya is crazy it would be hard to get inside her head**_

_**RainbowReads**__**: haha sorry...sort of...I like **__**cliffies haha. Not quite cinderella eh? haha. Oh and the next Fax moment is in Fang's POV since he's the next chapter ;)**_


	12. Halloween Dance Part II

**Heyo. Chap 12 in Fang POV, so it's short! Just a reminder that my next update will be on Monday, since I take Sunday's off. So, in advance, sorry for the cliffie! Haha, RnR**

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 12_

_Halloween Dance Part II_

_**Fang POV**_

_The best thing 'bout tonight's that we're not fighting_

_Could it be that we have been this way before?_

How appropriate.

As the song continues on, Max and I continue to dance a simple swaying pattern. Neither of us are talking, and I have to agree with the song: The best thing about tonight, is that we _aren't _fighting.

For some reason it's so easy to fight with her- but just being here like this, is really nice.

Wait, what?

I quickly try to pull myself back in to rational thinking, and realize I was staring at Max. Luckily, she isn't looking at me, but somewhere off to the side. I glance in that direction just as she turns to face me.

"So," she starts.

"I like your wings," I say before I can stop myself. Dang it, for some reason being this close to her is messing with my head. Maybe it's because we aren't arguing or making fun of each other, so I'm not sure what to say. And her hand in mine and on my shoulder definitely aren't helping either.

I can't tell if she blushes or not at my comment because of her mask- probably not, her being Max and all. Instead she just looks at me, and I gulp nervously.

Okay, this is pointless.

I'm just going to put it out there.

I like Ma…..

Mango's. I like Mango's. Yeah.

Man, this sucks. I don't have a single coherent thought going through my head. Not with her gaze on me like that. Wait, why is she looking at me that way anyways?

"Uh, thanks," she says, and then smirks, "You know they aren't real though right?"

"No," I say sarcastically, "And all this time I thought you were hiding a pair of wings under that jacket you always wear."

Good. Okay. Fang is back.

"Right back at you," she says, brushing a hand through one of the feathers near her hand. She smiles, and I'm lost again.

Man how I love that smile.

I mean smell. I mean…

She seems to realize that we're both just staring at each other and smiling stupidly, because we both look away at the same time, and this time I'm _sure _she's blushing as much as I am.

"Did you ride your motorcycle here?" She asks me.

"Na, I borrowed the car from my mom since Angel didn't want her outfit messed up and she wouldn't be able to hold on with these wings here anyways."

"Right," she says, "So did Gazzy not come?"

"Uh, no," I say, "Dances aren't really his thing…"

Her mouth quirks. Not that I was looking at her mouth or anything- hey, it's the only part of her face I can see, alright? Otherwise I wouldn't be looking at her lips. Er, mouth.

"And dances are _your_ thing?" She says, "I don't remember you ever coming to any of the dances last year."

"Oh, you noticed?" I say, raising an eyebrow before I realize she can't see it cause of my mask. She rolls her eyes.

I shrug, "I just never had a reason to go before now," I say. Ah crap, that's going to lead right to-

"And now you have a reason?" She asks, and I can hear the humor in her voice.

"Uh, Angel," I say, shrugging again.

"Oh, of course," she says. And is it just me, or does she sound… disappointed? No way. It's just my imagination. Not that I imagi- you know what? Just forget it.

We are both silent.

"I-"

"Uh-"

We both stop when we realized we started speaking at the same time. I'm not even sure what I was going to say, _"I-" _? I what?

_I have loved you from the start…_

_But hold your breath, because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you-_

_Over again, don't make me change my mind_

_Or I won't live to see another day, I swear it's true_

_Cause a girl like you is impossible to find…_

_Yeah right, _like I could say _that_.

"So what do you think of this song?" I ask her bluntly. Okay, that is not what I meant to say…

"Uh, er. I mean, it's good I guess," she says, then she sighs, "Actually, it's one of my favorites." Her eyes widen, as if she didn't mean to say that last part out loud.

"Oh yeah?" I ask, "How come?"

"Just, life, stuff…" she starts, but a high pitched slapping noise fills the air, and suddenly she's being pushed into me and our helmets bang together. I step back so we don't fall over, and she turns partly away from me to chew out whoever it was who ran into us.

"You're such a jerk!" Yells Star to Rachet, who I realize is standing in the ideal position to have ran into us. Even under the dim light reflected off the disco ball, I can see the mark on his cheek darkening where Star apparently slapped him.

"Ch, whatever!" He shouts back at her as she disappears into the crowd. He then crosses his arms and turns to us.

"Oh, hey dude, sorry about that," he apologizes, and I am again reminded that no one can tell who we are under our costumes.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" Says Max vehemently. Rachet and I both look at her, surprised.

"Max?" Rachet asks, at the same time that I say, "What?"

Max shakes her head, blowing off his question.

"Aren't you going to go after her Rachet?"

"Why should I?" He huffs. Max sighs.

"Look, if you don't go after her now, you never will," she says, and I wonder where all this wise-talk is coming from, "Is that what you want? To be out of her life?" She asks.

Rachet stands there, dumb struck. Then he seems to get a hold on himself, "Who ever said I wanted-"

"Rachet," she says firmly, cutting him off, "Just go after her," she continues, now exasperatedly.

Rachet pauses for a moment, then turns on his heal and dashes into the crowd after Star.

"Finally," Max says, turning back to me. She notices me staring at her, and says, "What? They needed a little push. This game of cat and mouse has been going on for too long."

I shake my head, "Did you mean what you said?" I ask.

"What do you mean?" She asks, looking confused.

"What you said before, about him not being in her life if he doesn't go after her now," I say. I suddenly wonder if I'm still talking about Rachet and Star.

"Of course," she says, "Star isn't very patient, and Rachet's taking too long. Everyone knows they're head over heels for each other. They're just too stupid to notice it."

"Oh, yeah," I answer, and she places her hand on my shoulder. That's when I notice that we've still been holding hands this whole time from when we were dancing. I place my hand back on her waist, but my mind is still on her words. Was I just too stupid to notice how I felt?

"Hey," she says, mirth in her eyes, "Your mask is crooked."

She then reaches her hand up from off my shoulder, fixing my mask. Her thumb accidentally brushes my cheek, and lingers for a moment longer than necessary. Or maybe the world is just going in slow motion for me.

I notice that her gaze has become serious, and our eyes meet.

_…__A girl like you is impossible to find…_

Man, what is up with this song? Why is it saying everything that I want to say, yet I can't find the words?

"Max," I say, my voice strangely confident, though I am anything but. Our gazes are still locked as she answers.

"Yeah?" She asks, her voice unusually quiet.

"I…" I pause, knowing what I want to say now, but unable to say it.

"Yeah?" She says again, her voice even quieter, if possible. I look away to regain my thoughts.

"What are we doing?" She suddenly yells, pushing away from me forcefully. I stumble a little at the unexpected movement, looking back to her, the words 'What the heck?' just on my tongue.

"Finally," I hear someone say from behind me, and I turn to see that a few people are just standing there staring at us, while everyone else just jumps up and down to the beat of "Clarity." I then realize why Max was so eager to get away. Dang, we must have looked like a pair of idiots, slow dancing next to a mosh pit in the middle of a fast song. And I didn't even notice the last song had ended.

Shows you how much I was paying attention.

Max has disappeared somewhere, and I catch a glimpse of her talking to Nudge through the crowd. I don't bother to go after her- my nerve is totally gone by now.

But then I remember what she said: _'If you don't go after her now, you never will.'_

I turn back in her direction, and take a step forward, gulping nervously. _No_, I tell myself. Then more confidently, I take another step forward.

_Tonight will be the night._

I make my way through the crowd.

**Song: Fall For You by Secondhand Serenade**

_**RainbowReads: Haha thanks! I wanted a costume for her with wings...thus, Hawkgirl! I love how you totally guessed Fang's costume, haha it made me laugh!**_

_**xxsmileyme123xx: Thank you! Hope you liked the chap!**_


	13. Fights, Friends, and Family Problems

**Hey guys, Yeah you all want to rip my legs off (hopefully not my arms since I need them to write). I know, I know, I haven't updated in like, three days. I'm not going to go through all the excuses and stuff, just gonna give you your chap.**

**Although I will make the other chapters up to you. By the end of the week I will have posted through chapter eighteen at least.**

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 13_

_Fights, Friends, and Family Problems_

"That was _hilarious_," says Nudge, "You two didn't even notice that the songs had changed!" She continues laughing, and then notices the glare I am giving her.

"You planned that whole thing, didn't you," I accuse. To my surprise and utter relief, Dylan was no where in sight when I had found Nudge.

She shrugs, "So I did, what of it?"

I stare at her, she isn't even going to deny it? Of course not. Nudge is the kind of person who likes to take credit for her handiwork. Just then, I see Dylan over Nudge's shoulder, walking towards us. He see's me and grins; I groan internally. How can he even tell who I am through the mask?

"Hey," says Dylan, just as I feel a tap on my shoulder and someone says, "Max." I turn to see Fang standing there. My heart lurches.

Scratch that.

"Max, I need to talk to you," he says, looking me straight in the eyes. I have no idea what he is thinking, "It's important," he says, grabbing my arm to lead me away. What could he possibly need to tell me _right now_? We had the whole four minutes of that song to talk.

"Woah woah woah," says Dylan suddenly, grabbing my other arm so I'm caught in between the two, "Just where do you think you're taking her? I was already talking to her."

"Don't worry, it's just Fang," I say, thinking Dylan probably see's Fang as a random stranger with that mask on.

"I know," says Dylan instead, eyes fixed on Fang.

"Max and I have something important to discuss," says Fang, tightening his grip on my arm, I feel Dylan do the same. Suddenly I'm angry.

"What the freak you guys? Let go of me!" I wrench both my arms away, startling the guys out of their glaring war so they turn to look at me.

"Max, I really need to talk to you," says Fang, his eyes pleading.

"I know," I growl, "You've said that like five times already."

"Well, I need to talk to her too," says Dylan. I throw my head back in exasperation. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Nudge watching the spectacle, as well as a few other people around. I can't read the look in her eyes.

"You know what?" I say, "I don't really want to talk to either of you. In fact, I have to use the bathroom, comprende?" And with that I stride away towards the bathroom. I don't glance back to see if either of them has followed me, cause if they have, my foot is going to be promptly introduced to a spot they would surely not appreciate.

To say the least, getting out of my costume to use the bathroom is no small feat (I really did have to go). About ten minutes later, I stumble out of the stall, and spot Nudge leaning against the wall across from me.

"Hey," I say, turning on the faucet beside her to wash my hands.

"So you want to know what happened after you left?" She asks abruptly. I sigh, shaking out my hands before swiping my hand in front of the paper towel machine.

"Not really," I say. _Lie_.

"Sure," she says, rolling her eyes, but continues anyways, "Basically, Fang was all pissed off because apparently what he had to tell you was '_really important_,'"

Now I roll my eyes, "So he said."

"And Dylan just crossed his arms and went on about how Fang 'doesn't own you,' and they basically were all in a hissy fit about it."

"Huh," I say, heading out of the bathroom.

"I think it's pretty obvious that they both like you," she says, following me as I exit the bathroom.

I cringe, "And what makes you think that?" I say. I turn to face her, leaning against one of the lockers.

She rolls her eyes, "Seriously, Max? You have _no idea_ what Fang could _possibly_ want to tell you that could be so important?"

I shrug, "He has herpes?"

She chooses to ignore me, "And I know that Dylan likes you because…he told me." I freeze.

"He…did?" I ask stupidly.

She nods, "He… asked me to help him get you," her voice is quiet now. I'm dumbfounded.

"Nudge," I say, "Nudge, I am _so sorry_."

Now it's her turn to shrug, "It's okay. It's not your fault."

Part of me is surprised that she's not freaking out like before. I can only assume it's because she knows who I _really_ like. But still, I feel like a piece of crap. She's liked the same guy for all of high school. I know how she feels.

"You know I like Fang," I reassure her. She just nods. Suddenly she whips her head up, and I see her discretely wipe a tear before reverting to her normal jovial self.

"Anyway," she breathes, "I think Fang was going to confess to you," she winks at me.

"Yeah right," I say, rolling my eyes. I'm still internally relieved that the subject of Dylan has been avoided for the time being, but now I have to talk to her about _Fang _to make sure her mind steers clear of all blonde- blue-eyed male specimens she might want to think about.

"Max, sometimes you can be such a blonde," she says, shaking her head. I grin at her, and then gesture to my dyed hair.

"Strawberry blonde, actually," I correct, and we both smile.

* * *

Anyways, I didn't really see Fang for the rest of the dance, he- as Nudge puts it- "must've lost his nerve," or whatever. I kept insisting he probably got diarrhea from the refreshments they had at the dance, but neither her or Tess and Ella would believe me (after Nudge told them the whole story on the ride back to her house). We were all sleeping over with Nudge, and spent about two hours talking about the nights events. Tess told us all about her growing feelings for Holden (much to Ella's relief, although I know she wouldn't say that), and Ella then telling us all about her 'almost kiss' with Iggy (once she learned that Tess didn't mind breaching the subject). I fell asleep that night thinking about a certain hawk-outfit-wearing-Walker. I wanted to know what he had to say more than I had let on.

The next morning, we all finally wake up around eleven am-ish. We're actually supposed to help Nudge set up for her Halloween party tonight, thus the sleepover. We spend the first three hours of our zombified state watching Fairy Tail, though, procrastinating party prep for the last possible moment.

"Man," says Ella, sighing, "Lucy and Natsu are just _meant to be together_!"

I roll my eyes. The rest of us realized that way back at episode number two. Ella is an obsessive NaLu shipper. Not that I'm complaining, it could be worse. I mean, she could like-

"Well I'm still waiting for Gray to realize his feelings for Juvia," says Nudge wistfully, "Now _that_ is true love."

"No way," I scoff, and Tess nods, "He doesn't feel that way. It would be way to forced. I mean, Juvia is awesome and all, but I just can't see her and Gray together."

"Shun the non-believer," says Ella.

"I actually think Juvia and Lyon are good together," says Tess.

"_Thank_ you," I say, looking at Nudge and Ella while pointing to Tess, "She's got it right."

"Whatever Max," says Ella, "You just don't want Gray to be with anyone cause he looks like _Fang_."

"Wha- he does _not_," I say, then realize I'm arguing the wrong thing, "I mean, that's _not_ why."

"You silly kids. This is why I ship Alzack and Bisca," says Nudge's mom, suddenly appearing in the living room doorway.

"Mom," Nudge whines, "They're already _married_. It's obvious that they end up together."

Her mom shrugs and heads back the way she came, calling back down the hallway, "That's why I ship them."

We finally decide to start setting up for Nudge's party, which takes about two hours. Then we only have about an hour to get into our costumes again. The party starts at about 6:30pm, and by seven there are at least forty people milling through her house, drinking punch, and playing various bored games. Nudge's parents are out on a date night, and _yes_, they know she is throwing the party. Her mom likes these sorts of things.

And _no_, there isn't any alcohol. We throw strictly PG parties, inviting everyone from people at our school, to kids around the neighborhood. Besides, we don't need any of that drinking stuff to party hard.

Unfortunately for me, Dylan arrived about five minutes ago, and I've been studiously avoiding him for that amount of time.

"Max," he says, finally catching up to me at the punch table. What? I spend a lot of time around the food at social gatherings, It's _free_.

"Oh, hey Dylan, I didn't see you there," I say. Man, I am a bad actor. Actress. Whatever, just saying.

Dylan shakes his head, "You've been avoiding me," he says.

"Was it that obvious?" I say innocently. Man, I'm treating him like Fang, and for some reason that bugs me.

"Why?" Says Dylan.

"Why what?" I say.

"Why have you been avoiding me? I want to talk to you."

"You just answered your own question," I say, taking a big gulp of root beer and shoving a cookie (yes, chocolate chip, yum) in my mouth.

It takes a moment for Dylan to catch my implication, "Haha Max," he says, but his tone turns serious, "I'm just going to say it."

"Say what?" I ask, almost immediately regretting it.

"I like you," he says.

I almost choke on my cookie, "Say _what_?"

He grabs my free hand (the one not holding the root beer) and I stare at it, shocked. What in the freak is happening?

"Max, I really li-" he starts to repeat, but is interrupted.

"What the crap?" Yells Fang, suddenly in front of us. What? When did he get here? I suddenly realize Dylan is still holding onto my hand and so I pull away. I see the slightly hurt expression in Dylan's eyes before he steels his gaze, turning to look at Fang.

"What is your problem, man?" Says Dylan angrily, "We were having a moment!"

"What?" I practically screech, "That," I huff, crossing my arms, "is a lie."

I notice that we've drawn the attention of most of the party, and some people have their phones out, clearly filming us. Great.

"Apparently not," says Fang, smirking. Well, he certainly felt better quickly.

"Max," Dylan says again, turning to me, "Max, I really like you." Fang starts sputtering beside him, and I take a step back. Dylan takes one forward, and Fang just stares at us.

"I…uh…" I say, at a loss for words. I mean, I know what I want to say, but it's definitely not appropriate for the situation.

"I've never felt this way before," continues Dylan. Wow, cliche much?

"Dude, she doesn't like you back, give it up!" Says Fang. I turn to him, narrowing my eyes. I mean, he's right, but who says he can claim things like that?

"How would you know?" Accuses Dylan.

"Yeah, _Fang_, how would you know I don't like Dylan?" Wait, did I just say that?

Fang looks shocked, and Dylan smiles at me. Oh no. He is _so_ getting the wrong idea.

"Wha…_do_ you?" Asks Fang incredulously.

"Er…no," I admit sheepishly. I can see Dylan's shoulders drop out of the corner of my eye. I look at Fang, angry again. I certainly didn't want to let Dylan down like _that_.

"But that doesn't give _you_ the right to go around claiming you know my feelings," I say to Fang.

"But…but I do!" He protests.

"What the heck!" I say. Who the heck does he think he is? Wait…Nudge didn't tell him anything…did she?

No. I refuse to believe she would betray me like that.

But then again, she did just find out Dylan likes me…

No, no, Nudge wouldn't _do_ that.

"You don't know anything about me!" I say, "I knew I shouldn't have been nice to you at the dance. Now you think you have some sort of _right_ over me. Well let me tell you, that is _not_ how it works." And with that I shove my way through the crowd. I see Ella and grab her hand, pulling her away from Iggy- I'll apologize to her later.

We get in my car that is parked along the curb, and I pull out- careful not to hit any of the other party cars in my anger. I spot Fang's motorcycle but look away before I do something I'll regret. Or that will get me arrested.

"Max," Ella says softly, "What happened back there?"

I'm vaguely aware of how my wings are now bent at an angle against the top of my car. Whatever. I am so _done_ with this costume.

"Stupid Fang, stupid Dylan, stupid costume…" I go on muttering about all the things I think are stupid at the moment (which, in my current state of mind, is _a lot _of things). I hear Ella chuckle beside me. I guess me being angry makes her think things are back to normal, for some reason.

"Oh Max," she says, "I can't wait until you and Fang get together."

"P-ft- What?" I stutter out.

"I mean, you're always fighting all the time. It's so cute," she says.

"Wait, what? Us fighting is _cute_?"

All she does is nod and laugh again. Sadist.

Stupid Dylan, stupid Fang, stupid costume, stupid Fang, stupid feelings, stupid Fang…

* * *

Monday finally rolls around, and everyone's already thinking about Thanksgiving now that Halloween is over. Break is in about three weeks, and as I look out the window in first hour, I can see that it's lightly snowing.

Huh.

November.

Snow.

_Flashback- Eighth grade- November: Fang's Love_

_By the time Winter of eighth grade hit, all of the students in my grade had played every game and done every group activity known to us. Soccer, tag, football, kickball, etc…_

_Plus it was winter, so all we could really do was walk around outside in the snow. The field adjacent to the school was a prime place for middle school students to have snowball fights, build snow men, or just hang._

_Nudge, Tess, and I -along with some other random girls, hey, I was pretty popular then- walk along the edge of the field. We pass by Iggy, Holden, and Fang, pretending not to notice them there. By now, all the girls know that I like Fang. I prefer to play coy though- don't want him scaring. _

_"__Hey Tess!" Yells Iggy suddenly, and we all look over. Holden and Fang look up from whatever they were doing (building a snow…woman?) and Iggy promptly finishes:_

_"__Holden likes you!" We all turn to Holden, who is bright red, and he tackles Iggy to the ground. Some of the girls start poking Tess and giggling, and I roll my eyes. What are we, fi-_

_"__Hey Max!" I whip my head back around to see that Holden has gotten up off the ground and is currently being jumped on by Fang from behind. What the-?_

_"__Fang-" He says, but is cut off by Fangs hand over his mouth. He manages to reach up and pull it away though, long enough for him to finish, "loves you!"_

_The girls around me gasp and immediately start talking at ninety miles an hour. I am vaguely aware of Nudge poking me, but I'm in too much of a daze to respond._

_Fang…loves me?_

_…_

_…_

_Love?_

_End flashback_

It's lunch time now, and I haven't seen Fang all day. Is he skipping class? Is he sick?

Next to me, Nudge is going on about how the whole thing at the party is on youtube or something, and how she can't believe she missed it since she was in the basement getting some more root beer.

I guess she's getting used to the idea of Dylan liking me, because she hasn't once mentioned her crush, despite the fact that it's only her, Tess, and I at the table. Ella is with Iggy, and Sam is off doing some assignment in the library. He hasn't been around much lately for some reason. And Dylan…now that I think about it, I haven't seem him all day either.

Huh.

"So I have this great idea," says Nudge.

"Oh yeah?" Says Tess.

"We should totally, like, dress up like guys, and go around the mall like that!" She says excitedly.

"What…dress up like guys?" I ask, "You mean, like, cross-dressing?"

Nudge shakes her head, "No, I mean, we totally pretend to be guys and see if we can pull it off! I was talking to my cousin on my dad's side and she was telling me all about how her and her friends dressed up like guys and totally fooled their whole town!"

I sit there quietly for a moment, "Nudge, is your cousin…you know…straight?"

"What? Of course! She's a _cheerleader_."

I assume that's supposed to be some sort of obvious association or something so I just say, "And why would we do that? Aren't you the one who likes to be all girly and stuff?"

"_Max_, it would just be super awesome to fool everyone like that!"

I shrug, "Okay. There's no harm in trying I guess."

Tess says, "But how do we, you know, hide our…" she trails off, gesturing at her chest. Let's just say Tess is more generously endowed than most girls.

"We wrap them, duh," says Nudge, "My cousin said her and her friends used sedan-wrap."

I make a face and Tess winces.

"Don't worry," continues Nudge, patting Tess on the hand, "My cousin has big boobs too."

I smother my mouth to cover my laughing as Tess slaps a hand to her forehead.

"So are you guys free after school tomorrow?" Asks Nudge obliviously. I shrug and Tess nods defeatedly.

"Where are we going to get guy clothes?" I ask.

Now Tess smirks, "What are you talking about, Max? Besides your school uniforms, guy clothes are all you have."

"Haha," I say flatly, turning back to Nudge, "But seriously."

"Well, I was thinking Tess could ask Holden and you could ask Ella to ask Iggy- if she wants to come with us, that is."

"What?" Tess and I nearly shout.

"You want me to ask Holden, if I can borrow some of his _clothes_?"

Nudge shrugs, "Why not? You guys are going out, aren't you?"

Tess flushes, "Yeah…but we're not that close…"

"Yet," I mutter, earning a look from Tess.

"What about Ella?" Nudge asks me.

"I dunno, maybe," I reply.

"Hmmm…" Nudge hums, thinking, "Well, we might just have to buy some then."

"Sweet!" I say, even though I don't particularly like shopping as we all know, "New clothes!" It's just that Nudge always wants to get all this _girly_ stuff. This is more my speed.

"Like I said," says Tess, "_Guy clothes_." She and Nudge laugh.

* * *

"I think we need to go up to the mountain during Thanksgiving break," I say, looking at some baggy cargo pants. It's after school and Nudge, Tess, and I are at the mall, searching for outfits in the guys section. Apparently, Ella is hanging out with Iggy.

"Is it even going to be open then?" Asks Tess.

"It should be, if it keeps snowing like this."

"Cool," says Tess.

"Oh, yeah! That's a good idea!" Says Nudge, "I have the perfect outfit to go skiing in."

"You know it's going to be cold right? What with the snow and all," I say to Nudge, who is too busy already looking at another t-shirt to hear me. I roll my eyes.

"Could I invite Holden?" Asks Tess.

"Sure," I answer, "It could be fun with a larger group. Maybe we could invite Lissa and Angel too." Although if I invite Angel, then I might have to invite Fang, "Er, maybe not," I say.

"Actually, that does sound fun," says Tess, "I'd probably want to invite some other guys so Holden isn't the only one and all."

"Hm," Is all I say. Now I'm thinking about Fang again. And here I was, successfully going on…ten minutes.

Man that's pathetic.

About two hours later, we all have complete male outfits, along with hats- and in Tess's case, a wig. She insisted.

I drop off Tess and Nudge at their house's. When I pull in to my driveway though, there is an unfamiliar car, and I wonder if Mom had some car trouble and had to get a rental or something. I step out of my car and head over to the front door, but when I pass the darkened window's of the mystery car, I see a shadow of someone inside. The outline shows a bulky figure, and I freeze. Okay…so maybe it's not my mom…

The drivers' side door opens, and out steps Ari Batchelder. I'm still not sure if I should let my guard down yet. What is he here for?

"Maximum Ride," he says. I raise my eyebrow and put my hands on my hips.

"Can I help you?" I say.

"I actually had something to ask you," he says, now sounding nervous, "Do you mind if I come inside?"

I mull this over in my head for a moment, "I'm sure whatever it is you need to say can be said out here. In the daylight. In public." I definitely don't need to be in my house alone with a random guy. Okay well maybe he's not so random- we do share a father after all- and I have talked to him before and he seems okay enough. Better safe than sorry though.

"Yeah, okay," he says.

I stare at him expectantly before he continues, "I wanted to ask if you would see Maya."

I furrow my brow, "Wait, what?"

He sighs and runs a hand down his face, "What I mean is, Maya is in an institution downtown, and she hasn't gotten any better since the…incident…before,"

I almost laugh at his use of the word 'incident.'

"She's been freaking out because she thinks you were a mirage or something and…I just can't stand to see her like that. What I wanted to ask was, will you please meet our sister Maya?"

I stand there still for a few seconds. _Our_ sister? I mean, I know that's what she is, but still.

"How do I know she won't attack me like before?" I ask honestly.

He shakes his head, "There's a patient-visitor barrier that you can talk through, but I'm hoping with you guys meeting and stuff, we can figure things out so that she won't react that way."

"Huh," I say.

Ari sighs again and pulls out a small strip of paper, "I understand you probably want to think about this. Just know that I think it would be good for you guys to get to know each other- you are twins after all. Here's my number, and you can call if you decide you want to see her. Goodbye, Max."

And with that he gets back into his car and pulls out of the driveway. I watch as he drives away, and raise an eyebrow at the slip of paper in my hand.

Man, that was random. Weird.

I just can't get over…

Who the heck carries around strips of paper with their number on them?

**This chap was a little longer than usual, and so I'm gonna make the next few long as well to make up for my absence. What did you think of the random Fairy Tail talk? Haha, those are some of my honest opinions on the show too...haha. Also, another POV coming soon...**

**Review Response Time:**

_**maximumgirl23306: Yay! Okay I know they fought in this chap...but I promise there is **__**lots of good stuff to come! Plus, I just love LoveHate relationships, haha.**_

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**_Guest#1_****:****_Thanks! I hope I continue to please!_**

**_RainbowReads:_****_ Sorry! You had to wait like three days...I'm sorry...I will be trying extra hard to make the next chapters longer and better to try and make up for it! Let me know how I do, k?_**

**_xxsmileyme123xx_****_: Thanks! It's one of my faves. I was just hoping it wasn't _****too****_ cheesy haha._**

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**_Guest#2_****_: Thanksa! Hope you continue to like!_**

**_Random Child Guest:_****_ Sorry, I'm supposed to update everyday and the past to I just haven't because of...all those things you mentioned in your comment haha. Life gets in the way sometimes!:) I'm not positive how long I shall make this story, probably not longer than twenty five chaps...although I have a sequel idea that I might mention once I finish if people want more. But...ugh I can't give out spoilers! Haha. You'll just have to wait and see:) _**


	14. An Outside Perspective

**Heyo! This chapter is just regular length, but it's NUDGE POV. I know no one actually wanted that...haha, but it just kind of worked with what I wanted and where the story went. Let me know what you think! **

_Maximum Ride:It's My Life_

_Chapter 14_

_An Outside Perspective_

_NUDGE POV_

So here's something about me: I hate waking up in the mornings. If you asked Max, she would say it's near impossible to get me to wake up. If you ask my mom, well, that's another story.

"Nudge! It's time to get up!" She yells, and clanging sounds commence. I know exactly what she's using to make that noise- believe me, I've heard it enough. An iron frying pan and it's lid. The lid has a dent in it from this one time when I was trying to teach Max how to cook about two years ago (and the _only_ time I ever attempted _that_), and she accidentally leaned on the hot stove, making her drop all the cake batter. We then proceeded to slip on afore mention cake batter, ending with us on the ground. I tried to use the counter to help myself up, but accidentally knocked off the frying pan lid that was randomly on the counter (I don't know why, ask Max) and it fell on the ground, where it was stepped on by Max and somehow she managed to make a dent in it that way.

Yeah.

It takes Mom about twenty minutes to get me up in the morning, and then I pick out my outfit for the day. That takes about ten minutes, and today I am wearing a navy blue pleated skirt and light yellow blouse. I wear some cute penny loafers along with a navy neck tie and put my hair in a bun with some loose curls. It's about seven o'clock when I step outside my front door with a lunch sack and my backpack. Max should be here soon.

A sound to my right draws my attention and I glance over. Dylan comes out of the house next to mine, getting into his car and driving off. I don't think he notices me- it's not like he ever has the three years we've been neighbors. I know that he knows we are neighbors though, at least. My parents and his parents are good friends, so we've had dinner together a few times, but with him it's always been strictly acquaintances, much to my chagrin. I mean, come on, what does a girl have to do to get a little attention from the guy she likes around here?

I sigh as his car disappears into the distance. Why have we never carpooled? I have no idea. It's not like I'm going to ask him for a ride- and besides, my house is on the way to school from Max's, so she just picks me up anyways.

Speaking of Max; she pulls up next to my mom's car in the driveway, and I jump in the passenger's side, just closing the door as she pulls out.

"So today after school right? For the mall thing?" She says as I check my makeup in the visor mirror.

"Yep," I say, happy now that I can get my mind off of Dylan and on to other things, "We can meet up at the JC Penny's at four and then wonder around for a bit before getting some dinner at the food court."

"Sweet," she says, but I can tell her mind is on something else. Or rather, some_one_ else.

"Don't worry," I say to her knowingly, "I'm sure Fang will be at school today."

I see her face pale at my accusation, and she says, "That's not what I was thinking about."

"Sure, whatever you say Max."

We ride in silence for a bit, and I turn on the radio. Max grimaces as I turn the volume up on a Justin Bieber song from a few years ago, but it's over soon and another song comes on. Max's mood instantly brightens, and I'm amazed at how random her taste in music is. I mean, she doesn't like Justin Bieber, but she likes-

"Baby, even though I hate ya, I wanna love ya,

I want you  
And even though I can't forgive ya, I really want to  
I want you  
Tell me, tell me baby  
Why did you leave me  
Cause even though I shouldn't want it, I gotta have it  
I want you," Max sings along with Ariana Grande.

I shake my head, but join in with her at the chorus:

"Head in the clouds  
Got no weight on my shoulders," Max starts rolling down the windows, despite the cold air outside. She's bobbing her head as she sings, which I'm sure is a driving hazard, but I dance along anyways.

"I should be wiser  
And realize that I've got," we sing, and then pause, looking at each other before we whisper dramatically:

"One less problem without ya,  
I got one less problem without ya,  
I got one less problem without ya," I cut out and Max sings:

"I got one less, one less problem," we laugh at the corniness of it all just as we pull into the school parking lot, drawing the attention of nearby students with our windows rolled down and music blasting. Max turns the car off after rolling the windows back up and opens her door, affectively stopping the music with the movement.

"Ah, how strangely appropriate that song was," she says as we walk to the front doors of the school.

"Oh poor Nick," I say, elbowing her in the side,"His true love thinks of him as a problem."

Max laughs, protesting while she elbows me back and we enter the front doors. Max says she's needs to use the bathroom and rushes off before I can offer to go with her, so I just head to my locker. I'm pulling out my Calculus book when someone comes up next to me. The sense of dread in my stomach tells me just who it is.

Normally, I would jump at any chance to talk to Dylan, but ever since he asked my to help him with Max, I just don't even want to look at him anymore. It makes my heart hurt.

So instead of asking him what he wants (it probably just has to do with Max anyways, he's never gone out of his way to talk to _me_), I shut my locker and turn the opposite way from him, walking down the hall. I hear his footsteps as he fast walks to catch up with me.

"Hey, Nudge," he says, placing a hand on my elbow. I cringe. Gritting my teeth, I turn to him with emotionless eyes.

"Dylan," I say flatly.

"Woah, is it just me, or did a chill just enter the room?" He cracks a smile, but I just stare at him blankly.

"Jeeze.." he says, then shakes his head, "Um, anyways, I was just wondering, if, you know, Max has mentioned me at all since the party last week."

"No," I say blatantly, "She hasn't." Which is actually true, since we haven't really talked about the party thing since I could just watch it on Youtube.

His face falls, "Oh."

"Well, bye," I say abruptly in a fake cheery tone, and start walking towards my first hour class again.

"Wait!" He calls out, catching up to me again, stepping in front of me this time. I come to a halt and take a step back from our close proximity.

"Seriously, Dylan? What do you _want_?" Wow, now I sound like Max. I guess her sexist-ness is rubbing off on me.

Dylan looks surprised at my tone of voice, and I clench my fist to keep myself from rolling my eyes, "So…you don't think I have any chance with Max?" He asks.

I sigh, rubbing my forehead with one hand, "Dylan, why would you think that you _do _have a chance with her?"

He shrugs, "I don't know, I just thought we had some chemistry, you know? She's interesting- she's like the only girl who doesn't flirt with me, and I feel like we have like- like a flame of passion that could grow into something more."

What in the-what? You know, if Max actually liked Dylan back, that would seem sort of romantic, but since she doesn't…

"Well, you know what they say about fire," I say, smirking.

Dylan see's my change in mood and I guess he takes it as a good sign. I smile as he says hopefully, "Oh yeah? And what's that?"

I drop my face so it's dead serious, and say firmly:

" . And roll."

As I walk away from a stunned Dylan, I feel giddy. Weird, like, I don't know, I just did something amazing. Max would be so proud, I laugh to myself. But anyway, I think he gets the message.

* * *

Max spits out her juice all over the lunch table in front of her, laughing her head off.

"You…" she gasps for air, "You actually said that?" She laughs loudly, slapping a palm against the table as I reach for some napkins from Tess.

"Yeah," I say timidly, blushing, "I thought it would be sassy, or something."

Max stops and looks at me, "Oh it totally was! I just can't believe you said that! Ahahahaha!" She goes into another laughing fit at my story of Dylan and I's conversation this morning. Tess rolls her eyes at Max's actions, but is smirking all the same.

"Wow, our little Nudge-y is getting an attitude," says Tess, "I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing."

"Relax, you guys," I counter, "I'm not getting 'an attitude'-" I make quotation marks with my fingers- "I just was annoyed by Dylan, that's all."

Max looks at me incredulously, all humor suddenly gone from her face, "You were _annoyed_ at him?"

I shrug, "Yeah, he was being stupid. I mean, you clearly turned him down in front of a bunch of people. Like, what does he think that means? Hello? That's an obvious 'no' in my books."

"Wow," says Tess, observing me carefully, "Remind me never to get on Nudge's bad side."

Max shudders, "Same here."

"What's this about a bad side?" Asks Holden, coming up behind Tess and bending to place a kiss on her cheek.

"Oh nothing, just some girl stuff," says Tess, turning his face to hers so she can kiss him softly on the lips.

Max makes a gagging sound from next to me, "My eyes!" She cries, covering her eyes with her hands. "Please, no PDA in front of my innocent face."

I snort, "Innocent, yeah." Max looks at me through her fingers.

"You know what I mean, Nudge," she says. Tess and Holden chuckle and Tess stands, intertwining their hands.

"Well, see you guys in class- Holden and I have a study date at the library."

"Y'okay," says Max, making a shooing motion with her hand. I wave at them as they walk away.

"Hey movie star," says Sam, taking a seat in front of Max and I. Max groans.

"Oh please, _don't_ mention _that_ again," she says, referring to the viral video of her and Fang and Dylan fighting.

Sam laughs, "I know, I know. So anyways, are you guys going to the game this Friday?"

"Game?" Asks Max cluelessly.

"The football game," I say to her, then I turn to Sam, "I don't know, it's their last one isn't it?"

Sam nods, about to say something else but Max cuts in, "No _way_, you guys want to go watch a _football game_? Football's not even a sport!"

I roll my eyes, "Says the girl who runs track."

"Hey," she says pointedly, "Football games are super boring and put me to sleep. They're as bad as Golf meets!"

"Tournaments," corrects Sam, "And anyways, it's not like everyone just goes to football games to watch them, it's mostly just to chill with friends."

"Why go to a football game to 'chill' when you can just hangout somewhere else, preferably somewhere with chocolate cookies."

"Okay," I say, "We are definitely going to this game now. You need to get over your prejudiced feelings towards football."

"Why? I like my prejudiced feelings," she says adamantly.

"Whatever, we'll be there," I say to Sam.

"Cool," he says, but he's looking at Max as he says it. For some reason I don't think it registers in his mind that Max is stuffing half a sandwich in her mouth at once. Yep. He's too entranced with her to notice.

Seriously? Does every guy like Max? I sigh inwardly. Sam says his farewells to both of us before heading off- presumably to Theatre club or something. A few minutes later, Max and I head off to fifth hour, Max still laughing and muttering 'stop, drop, and roll' every few seconds under her breath.

We're rounding a corner, when we come face to face with Fang. Well, to be more exact, Max does.

"Oh sorry," he says, and then looks up to see that it's her.

"Huh, never thought I'd hear you say _those_ words," she answers, before stepping around him. But he moves in front of her again, and suddenly I feel like both of them have forgotten I am here as they have a stare down- speaking with their eyes.

"Please move," Max says, sickly sweet. Oh my, she must be serious with that tone.

"'Please," repeats Fang, smirking, "And I never thought I'd hear Maximum Ride say _that._"

It's amazing how easily they get on each other's nerves. Max is obviously angry now, as she shoves him in the chest- causing him to take a step back- and says, "Well _I_ never thought you would turn out to be such a jerk once we got into high school."

Now Fang furrows his eyebrows, "You weren't that nice either, Max."

"Only to you, jerk face," she says. Sadly, she's reverted to elementary school insults.

"Well you started it," he counters. Yep, definitely going elementary here.

"No _way_," she says vehemently, "You changed first!"

"Oh yeah? And how is that?"

"You were all 'high and mightier than thou' as soon as we got into high school and everyone wanted to be friends with the principal's son. You treated anyone you wanted like dirt, and that included me," Max huffs, "Although I guess I should be glad," she continues sarcastically, "Since that was the only time you deigned to talk to me."

Both Fang and I are surprised by her monologue. I mean, I already knew all of that…but she's never said it out loud like that before.

Fang is silent, and I can tell he's mulling over what she just said in his mind. So Max continues, "And now you have the gall to think that you know me? And have a say in who I like? I'm sorry but- no, I'm not sorry- that ship sailed three years ago. Now leave me alone."

She brushes past him, careful not to touch him at all, and I follow after.

"Wow…that was kind of…harsh," I say. Max gives me a look, "But in a good way, I guess," I continue, "Although I have no idea how to get you guys together _now_."

Max gives a curt laugh, "I think we all knew that was never going to happen. We have too much history. And Fang will never be able to get over himself. He thinks he knows me," she pauses, "By the way, did you tell him about how I like him?"

I shake my head, "No way, I wanted you to confess that yourself."

"Yeah, I didn't think it was you. But he seemed so sure that he knew at the party- I guess he's just overly cocky. Man, he just really bugs the crap out of me, ugh…"

I listen to her as she pulls a Nudge (yes, I know that's what she calls it) and blabs on for about another minute on how much she hates Fang Walker until we reach the classroom.

Hates.

…_Right_….

_Flashback-Freshman Year- February_

_The Valentines dance was tomorrow, and Max already had her two dance partners signed up on her dance card. It wasn't a date dance, but we needed to have two different partners to learn the square dance and the waltz. Max had asked Sam, who said yes of course, and Rachet. She kept telling me that if I didn't ask someone, I was going to get paired up with Devin or something. And that would suck._

_But I'm not like her, I can't go all commando feminist and ask a boy to learn a dance with me- I just don't think it's in my blood. So here I am, waiting for someone to ask me. Rumor was, Nick Walker didn't have any partners yes- which at first surprised me, but then Max said it was probably cause he thought he was too good for all the girls. I didn't get it though- didn't Max like him for like…almost a year? And now she hates his guts. Sure, he was a jerk a couple of times, but all guys are like that, right? Maybe I'm missing something._

_"__Look," she says as we walk down the hallway after school, "I really don't want you to have to suffer through dancing with some freak tomorrow that they pair you up with. If you aren't going to ask anyone, then I'm going to do if for you," I try to protest in vain as she continues, "The next person who walks around that corner, I'm asking them to sign your card."_

_I sigh, and then fate seems to like laughing at us (or more specifically Max) as around the corner comes none other than Nick Walker. Behind him are his buddies Holden and Iggy. I see Max stiffen beside me, and go to put a hand on her shoulder and tell her that she doesn't have to do it, but she just shrugs me off, squares her shoulders, and walks right up to him._

_Nick catches a glance of the dance card in her hand as she approaches, and it may have just been the lighting, but I think I see hope flash through his eyes. Max stops right in front of him, causing him to stop abruptly with his friends._

_She holds up the dance card and says, "Look, Nudge doesn't have a partner for either of the dances tomorrow, so will you please sign her card so she doesn't end up with some freak? She won't ask anyone herself." Wow. How's that for a delivery. I see Nick's eyes darken momentarily before he smirks and says:_

_"__Only if you get down on your knees and beg."_

_Oh boy. Does he want to unleash Maxzilla?_

_She narrows her eyes and says, "No way," before turning on her heal and walking away. As she passes she mutters, "Sorry," to me, but I just shrug. Max was just trying to help me, but I know she has her limits._

_At the dance the next day, I did end up having to dance with Devin. For _both_ dances._

_End flashback_

**Response time! Just so you know, I sometimes won't respond to reviews that weren't questions or I just don't know what to say too! Haha.**

**_Guest#1_****_: Okedokie! Thanks!_**

**_ChiVall_****_: Haha well I'm not a Gruvia fan...but I definitely ship GaLe and Jerza! Definitely Jerza..._**

**_demigodgeek69:_****_ I shall concede_**

**_RainbowReads:_****_ Yes, I know, silly Max...but hey, she's not eager to get her heart _****_broken_****_ again! But _****_don't worry, this is a Fax story. The boys being girls idea is something my actual cousin did and told me about...and it worked! Haha._**

**_xxsmileyme123xx:_****_ Thanks for understanding! Looking forward to more Fax (specifically kissing, haha) in your story!_**

**_maximumgirl23306:_****_ Haha! double entendre!_**


	15. The Wings of Love?

**Hey guys! Okay, here's chapter 15 in FANG POV. I know it's really late, but I was really busy today- so yeah. I live in Oregon btw, so Pacific Coast time. It's about 11pm here. So this chapter is typical Fang shortness, but the next three chapters (all of which I have to write tomorrow- ugh- uh, I mean, yay!) will be longer like the last two, hopefully. **

**IMPORTANT NOTE****: This is Fang's POV starting from the Halloween Dance when Max leaves after Dylan and Fang start arguing.**

**RnR:)**

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 15_

_The Wings of Love?_

_Fang POV_

I heard her say it.

I heard Maximum Ride admit that she likes me.

It was at the Halloween dance, after Dylan got in the way of my confession to Max, and she got all pissed off for no reason in particular and charged off somewhere. This left Nudge to watch us argue, before she eventually went to find Max (I assume).

"This is all your fault," Dylan had said, crossing his arms and huffing angrily.

"How is it my fault?" I countered, glaring at him. Man, and I was so ready to tell her, too.

"She's always fighting with you. I'm not the one she hates," he says, lifting his chin in some sort of challenge.

"She doesn't hate me," I counter. I hope, "That's just all for show."

He scoffs. "Yeah, and I'm sure her complaining about you means nothing as well," he says sarcastically.

I raise an eyebrow, smirking, "So she talks about me, does she?"

Dylan moves closer, so he's right in my face, "Just back off, dude. You had your chance."

I growl. Okay, sure, he had me there- but here's the thing: I've never actually _told_ Max that I liked her. For all of eighth grade, and the beginning of ninth, we'd kind of just skirted around the fact that we 'liked' each other. Well, at least I had. My friends told her plenty of times how I felt, I'm sure. And she even told me that she liked me- twice. Once on Valentines Day on my Valentines card, and once over the summer in a letter.

I guess I always just assumed that she knew I liked her. I mean, it was obvious.

But this time, I was going to tell her. And then Dylan had to go and ruin the moment.

"You back off, _dude_. I was here first, which gives me more claim to her than you'll ever had. Everyone knows you're just a player, so go find some other girl to play. Max is special- and she will never fall for a cad like you."

And with that, I walked off in my full wing-ed glory. Now I was more determined than ever to find Max and tell her. She'd probably smack me, and tell me I was a jerk-face like she always does, but it didn't matter. She would know how I feel. _I_ would know how I feel.

I walk out of the gym and away from all the dancing, and start down the hallway that leads to the girls bathroom. Around the corner, I hear voices, so I stop and wait a while for them to pass- then I recognize Max's voice:

"And what makes you think that?" She says, presumably to Nudge.

"Seriously, Max? You have _no idea_ what Fang could _possibly_ want to tell you that could be so important?" Yep. Nudge.

"He has herpes?" I here Max say jokingly, and mentally do a face palm. Although, that is pretty funny. But Nudge ignores that comment as she continues.

"And I know that Dylan likes you because…he told me." I knew it. That bastard. He thinks he can just swoop in and steal her heart whenever he feels like it? Max doesn't work the same way as other girls. Lucky for me…she doesn't respond well to the whole 'knight in shining armor' bit- which in Dylan's case is quite literal, considering his consume. I smirk to myself, before I hear Max answer:

"He…did?" She asks, sounding genuinely surprised. Wait…she doesn't like him…does she? No…she can't…

"He… asked me to help him get you," Nudge says in a low tone. Wow- Dylan asked the girl he likes' best friend to help him get her? How low can you get? That is so cheap.

Why didn't I think of that?

"Nudge- Nudge I am so sorry," I hear Max say, and I am nearly dying from want to know _why_. Does Max like Dylan back? Wait, but why would she be sorry? Does…oh boy, Nudge likes Dylan?

Man, this is rough.

"It's okay. It's not your fault," Nudge answers, and even though I don't know Nudge that well, I can hear how her tone of voice sounds out of place to her normal personality. But on other matters…_does Max like Dylan?_

"You know I like Fang," says Max, and my heart almost stops.

_You know I like Fang…I like Fang…I like Fang…_

She _likes me_.

I could die right then and there and be happy. Well, not really- I could go for a kiss with Max first… but you get what I mean.

To be uncharacteristically poetic: My heart is soaring. I'm so out of it, that I only get the last half of Nudge's response to Max. Something about me confessing to her.

Wait, how did Nudge know I was going to confess to Max? I didn't know myself until right before. But then I hear footsteps and know that they are about to round the corner.

I guess my confession to Max will have to wait, because right now I have to get out of here before they know I was listening. And also because the only coherent thought running through my head is:

Max _likes me_.

Maximum Ride _likes_ me.

* * *

I was going to confess to her at the party, but of course Dylan just had to get in the way of that again. I just wanted to go up to him and tell him that _Max_ likes _me_- and then punch him in the face. Especially when he confessed to her. But I knew that would definitely _not_ win me any points with Max, mostly because she doesn't know that _I_ know, so she'd probably assume I was just being a cocky bastard myself.

I guess the knowledge of her feelings for me is helping me control some of my temper, because I didn't punch Dylan in the face. Instead I left the party, getting on my bike and going for a nice long ride on the highway. I got home around ten, which didn't really matter since I would've stayed that long at the party under other circumstances anyways.

Angel wanted to know how 'confessing to Max' went, because even though I never actually told her that's what I was planning, she said I had that 'look' about me.

Sometimes I just think she can read minds.

I ended up skipping school on Monday, because my mom found out about the video and in her mind a proper punishment is me not getting to see the 'object of my affections.' To put it nicely, she doesn't approve of my choice in attraction (she was voting for Lissa, remember?), but I guess she thinks my feelings so minimal that _one day_ away from Max will stop me from liking her.

Yeah, right. After liking her for over three years, one day isn't going to do jack. But I kind of wish it would- because the more I think about it, the harder it is to see this going anywhere:

So, she likes me, and I like her. But if- no, _when_- I confess, what's going to happen? I really can't even imagine a relationship with Max. Do I want one? Of course. Have I thought about it before? More times then I care to mention here. Would it work out?

…

…

I have no idea. She's just too unpredictable for me to predict that scenario. I mean, who says she even wants to be with me, just because she likes me? And how much should I take from the word 'like'?

Maybe overhearing her with Nudge wasn't that helpful after all…

But I have to know: does she like me as much as I like her?

Wait, how much do I like her?

I feel like my brain is going to explode. Maybe I can get Gazzy to do that for me…

Tomorrow. Tomorrow I definitely have to tell her.

* * *

But of course as soon as I run into her- quite literally- we revert back into our old routine of arguing.

"Oh sorry," I say on instinct when I bump into someone. I look up to find Max, looking as stunned as I feel, but she quickly regains her composure.

"Huh, never thought I'd hear you say _those_ words," she answers, before stepping around me. But I move in front of her again, determined to have my say. WE have a stare down- speaking with our eyes.

"Please move," Max says, canceling out the word 'please' with her tone.

"'Please," I retort, smirking, "And I never thought I'd hear Maximum Ride say _that._"

Max suddenly shoves me in the chest, surprising me so I have to take a step back to steady myself.

"Well _I_ never thought you would turn out to be such a jerk once we got into high school," she says.

I blink and then narrow my eyes, trying to catch up with the sudden subject change, "You weren't that nice either, Max."

"Only to you, jerk face," she says. Yeah. Only to me.

"Well you started it," I say, internally wincing at how much I sound like a kindergartener.

"No _way_," she says vehemently, "You changed first!" _I_ changed? What the heck is she talking about? Of course I changed- we all changed once we got into high school.

"Oh yeah? And how is that?" I say, still confused but determined not to let it show.

"You were all 'high and mightier than thou' as soon as we got into high school and everyone wanted to be friends with the principal's son. You treated anyone you wanted like dirt, and that included me," Says Max in one of the longest tangents I've ever heard her say in the past three years. But she isn't finished, "Although I guess I should be glad," she continues sarcastically, "Since that was the only time you deigned to talk to me."

Wait, _what?_

And then, I think I get it.

Max has been mad at me this whole time because I _stopped giving her attention?_

I want to laugh and cry with relief all at the same time. I mean, that's an easy fix, right? I'm so caught up in my thoughts that I forget to respond and Max says:

"And now you have the _gall_ to think that you _know me_? And have a say in who I like? I'm sorry but- _no_, I'm _not _sorry- that ship sailed three years ago. Now leave me alone."

She walks past me, and I just stand there, stunned.

What in the heck just _happened?_

**So, I know that answered some questions you guys had. **

**Review Response:**

_**ChiVall**__**: Well, no ...Max did;) haha**_

_**Guest#1**__**: Thanks! And more Fax to come!**_

_**RainbowReads**__**: Cool, glad you think so. I will only be using Nudge occasionally, like when I need an outside POV on the whole situation...hehe- **__**there**__** is some good stuff in the future, just so you know. I love the cover picture too! I actually stole it off the internet on google illegally...heheh...so, uh, DISCLAIMER! All rights to the awesome artist who drew it!**_

_**xxsmileyme123xx**__**: Aww I hope you get your next chap up soon!**_

_**maximumgirl23306**__**: I actually have a good round plot planned for Dylan and Nudge. They will get together, but as to whether that will be in this story or it's sequel, I'm not sure yet. I just have to see what comes to me.**_


	16. Of Dummies and Doorknobs

**Yep. You can shoot me. But before you do, read this chapter! *skillfully dodges pre-shot bullet***

**And with out further ado, and after a few weeks of, uh...inactivity, I present to you chapter 16!**

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 16: Of Dummies and Doorknobs_

_MAX POV_

"Okay, I'm amazed, but also kind of freaked out," says Ella, "You guys look like _guys_."

"That was the goal," I say obviously. But she's right- it _is_ kind of freaky how much we managed to transform into the male species.

Let me give you a low down on how we look:

So first off, we have Tess. She's the tallest out of all of us at 5'11'' so she has the advantage in that area. Although it seemed like it would be harder to hide her more, er, _feminine_ parts, it actually worked pretty well with the seranwrap, and makes her look like she has a swimmers' body- with a muscular upper torso. She's wearing a t-shirt with a v-neck, and some washed-out guy jeans and a belt that's hidden underneath the t-shirt. On her feet are some converse with socks tucked in the toe to make her feet fit in the larger shoes. Over her shirt she has a blue striped jacket, and she's wearing her hair hidden up in a curly blonde wig. We had to darken her eyebrows to a more brownish color, since she has a reddish tint to her natural hair, and all in all she looks a lot like a Californian surfer dude.

Nudge is wearing a pair of baggy black jeans ( all of us had to wear pants since we don't have enough leg hair to pass as guys in that area). She's also got a black t-shirt on and her skinny build and flatter-than-Tess chest give her more of a beaner look. Her 5'6'' height doesn't hurt either. She's wearing some DC shoes that are black with white laces, and we had to clean all of the nail polish off her nails, as well as cutting them to make them more guy-ish. None of us have make-up, except for where Tess gave Nudge a little bit of a shadow above her lip to make it look like a sort of mustache. Her hair was the hardest to manage, and in the end, Tess and Ella and I corn-rowed it (which took a few hours, and honestly I just watched and ate Sour Cream and Onion Lays). I was glad we met right after soccer practice ended, because we ended up not being ready until around seven o'clock, when Ella also left on a date with Iggy.

I get ready last, wearing a white t-shirt with the sleeves cut off- which worked since I have pretty toned arms and shoulders (not to brag or anything) from sports. My hair is just tucked up into a backwards ray-band hat with some hair swooping across the forehead to give me a more floppy hair-look. I have on cargo pants (that are actually mine-although I may or may not have gotten them from the mens section…) and some Osiris's on my feet.

We all kind of made our eyebrows a little bushier to add effect, and Nudge had to put in some silver studs since her hair didn't hide her ears. Mine kind of flopped over them so I figured no one would notice, and Tess's wig was long enough to cover her ears. We look pretty authentic, and all the doubts I had before are gone as Tess grabs the keys to her dad's truck. We wanted the full affect, so her dad let us borrow it under the premonition that we had to move some furniture or something.

We arrive at the mall just as Intergalactic by Beastie Boys comes one the radio, and I make Tess and Nudge wait until it finished before we get out of her truck.

"Have you guys seen the music video for that song? It's really…special," I say as we walk to the front doors.

"I've never even heard that song before now," mutters Tess.

"Oh my gosh you guys, are you nervous? I'm nervous. Do you think anyone will recognize us?" Says Nudge.

"They will if you keep talking like that," I say, trying to make my voice sound more masculine. Actually it's working pretty well.

"Well, they might think you're a gay guy," says Tess in a successful baritone

"Yeah, you'll just have to not talk, Nudge," I tease, knowing that's practically impossible.

"Hey, actually we probably won't be recognized since we go to a charter school and no one from there hangs out at the mall," Nudge continues, ignoring our previous comments.

"I think you need a lower voice," I say, just as we approach the front doors. We stand in front of them for a few minutes, trying to help Nudge perfect her boy voice before Tess reaches for the door to go inside.

The first store we head to is Zumiez, since that's a store I would actually enjoy looking at and is mainly populated by guys. There's only a few guys milling around and checking out skateboards and wheels when we come in, and no one takes any notice of us. I take this as a good sign, and head over to some DGK decks while Tess and Nudge stand next to me and look at some ISHOD's. One of the desk clerks comes over to us.

"Is there anything in particular you dudes are looking for?" He asks, and I mentally do a fist-pump at our successful gender swap.

"I was actually wondering if you have any of the new Z-flex models, I wanted to check those out," I say honestly. Hey, might as well get some skateboard shopping done while I was here.

"Oh yeah, we just got in a brand new shipment of those babies. I'll go get you one from the back," he says, and I nod, shoving my hands in my pants pockets. Nudge, Tess, and I look at each other triumphantly, grinning. A few minutes later the guy returns with a bubble wrap encased deck, unwrapping it before holding it out to me.

I examine the board, "Are there specific trucks that go best with this style of board?" I ask.

Ten minutes later, the Z-flex board is all put together with trucks and wheels, and I stand on it, doing a kick-flip to test its flexibility. A few guys look over as I land, and I decide to show off. I do a few simple tricks, and the guys head over, just as I land an Ollie Impossible.

"You're pretty good man," says the clerk who has been watching as I try out the board.

"What else can you do, dude?" Asks one of my now spectators, who looks about fourteen. I grin at him and gesture for them to back up a little, before standing on the board and bending down. I quickly transition into a handstand, my board on my feet in the air, and I hear a few whistles. My head itches and I realize that my hat is starting to slide off, so I quickly lower back down to standing position, throwing in a board flip and casually adjusting my hat. I glance at Nudge and Tess for approval that my identity isn't in danger of revealing itself, before I hand the board back to the clerk.

"I'll get it," I say to him, and he heads over to the counter to ring me up. We leave the store, nodding to the guys who were watching before heading to the cafeteria.

"Man, I'm starving," I say.

"Those were some awesome tricks you were doing," says Tess, "Those guys seemed impressed."

I shrug, "Wonder what they would have done if they knew I was a girl."

"Ooh look! Panda Express!" Points out Nudge. I raise an eyebrow at her and glance around, making sure no one witnessed her girly show of excitement.

"Careful, man," mutters Tess, and Nudge's eyes widen in realization again. She shuts her mouth firmly, and we get in line at the Panda Express.

Tess starts talking to Nudge in a low tone about what to get, and that's when I notice a familiar head of hair in front of us. I nudge Tess with my elbow, getting her and Nudge's attention. They look at me and I jerk my head to the left, motioning to the male in front of us.

'Fang.' I mouth, and their eyes widen. Then Tess cocks her head and mouths back:

'And Lissa?'

I swerve back to look at Fang, and see that there is in fact a girl next to him- who is in fact Lissa.

Dang.

You know- uh, 'dang' that someone we know is here. Not that it matters that it's Fang.

Or that he's with Lissa.

I scan the surrounding area, but don't spot any of his other groupies, coming to the conclusion that this is…a date?

I shove down the empty feeling in my stomach and instead marvel at Fang's choice in date- food. Seriously? Panda Express? That's definitely one of the lamest places you could take a girl on a date.

And that has nothing to do with the fact that he's on a date with Lissa, and not me. Because I don't care.

Yeah.

Tess swoops her head in close to me and mutters, "Maybe they won't see us since they're in front. They have no reason to turn around."

Nudge nods vigorously, eyes wide. Okay, if we ever do this again, Nudge is definitely just going to go as a girl.

Lissa bends close to Fang, her hand lightly touching his arm and asking him what he wants to get. My eyes zero in on that hand, and suddenly I have the fleeting desire to become an arsonist. Is that a career choice? I wonder if you can go to college for that.

I shake my head, dismissing my thoughts on Salem Witch Trials. Because really, I have nothing against Lissa- she's nice, and I already knew she liked Fang, so of course she's going to want to be close to him. But still-

My thoughts are interrupted as Fang takes a step back to look up at the menus above us. I smoothly move to the right so as not to be bumped into and cause an apology session- and thus face a chance in being recognized. I turn to grin at Tess and Nudge for my ninja skills, but I made a mistake in taking my attention off of the dark haired male in front of me. I turn to face ahead right as Fang lifts his arm to scratch the back of his head- and hits me in the eye with his elbow.

I stumble back, surprised, as my eye shuts involuntarily, "Ah!" I exclaim, just as Tess mutters, "Crap."

Fang whirls around, apology already on his lips, and I quickly use my injured eye as an excuse to cover the side of my face with both hands. Hopefully that will obstruct his view from seeing my full-on.

"I am so sorry man, I didn't know you were behind me," Fang is saying as I turn sideways.

I shake my head, "S' all good," I say in my guy- voice.

He nods, satisfied, and turns back around. I make a face at his obvious "concern''. Seriously, guys are clueless.

Tess grabs the arm I've dropped away from my face, and pulls me out of the cafeteria, Nudge trailing behind and looking over her shoulder.

"Oh my gosh guys, Fang and Lissa are totally looking at us again!"

"Just hurry up with us," I growl, the pain in my eye becoming more adamant. Just as we make it out into the hallway, I bump into someone. Gah, seriously?

"Whoa, sorry- you okay there?" Asks another, sadly familiar, voice.

You have got to be kidding me.

"Dylan?" Blurts Nudge. He turns to her.

"Uh, do I know you?" He asks, and Nudge quickly regains herself- to Tess and I's surprise.

"Ehem," Nudge grunts in a lower tone, "Your name tag."

I look back at Dylan to realize that he is indeed wearing a name tag. And an apron. Huh, never pictured Dylan as the type of guy who would work at Subway.

Dylan shakes his head confusedly and turns back to me, "You okay, man? That eye looks like it's swelling up pretty bad. You get in a fight or something?"

"No," I snap, but then realize that there isn't really any other way to get hit in the eye. And I wasn't about to explain my way with elbows.

"I, er…" I say. Glancing around, I spot the door to an "employees only" room, and say, "I uh, fell into a doorknob."

Next to me, Tess face-palms and Nudge giggles. Luckily, it looks like Dylan doesn't notice as he says, "Uh, okay then. Yeah."

He awkwardly backs away and then heads right, towards the subway next to us. Us three girls rush into the hallway, not even caring that we look like freaks running down the hallway and out the doors to our car before we can run into anybody else we know.

Tess hops into the drivers seat, starting up the car before I even get the passenger door shut. Nudge bursts out laughing in the seat behind us as we pull out of the parking lot- no doubt looking like we're doing some sort of sneaky get-away. Or not so sneaky. Ok, whatever, screw similes.

Metaphor. Whatever.

"I cannot _believe_ that just _happened_!" Exclaims Nudge.

"Tell me about it," I say, cradling the injured side of my face with my hand- man that smarts.

"Yeah," says Tess, "What are the chances that we run into Fang _and_ Dylan?"

"And Lissa," I mutter, but it turns into a half growl as the pain in my face is really increasing.

"Oh yeah," says Nudge thoughtfully, "Hm…on a date…" She looks at me and raises an eyebrow.

"What?" I shrug, "It's not like I care." At all. Or in any way.

"Whatever Max, we already know you like him, remember?" Adds Tess.

"Okay, so maybe I care!" I huff, crossing my arms and turning to face the window next to me. Then I remember my eye and groan.

"It's okay Max," says Nudge in a comforting sort of voice- I think- "I'm sure there's a good reason for them going out….to eat…together. Besides a date!"

"Yeah yeah," I say, then change the subject, "Man, what am I going to do about this? It's totally going to be a black eye by morning."

"Maybe some ice?" Offers Tess.

"Have no fear!" Nudge shouts from the back, "Nudge the makeup master is here!"

I face-palm, causing myself to wince, and Tess mutters, "Wonder how long it took her to come up with that one."

Nudge huffs, pouting at Tess, "I've always wanted to say that. I was just waiting until Max finally asked for my help. I knew it would happen eventually."

"I didn't really…" I start to say, "Ah, whatever."

"Although I am surprised," Tess says suddenly, "Neither of them recognized us. I mean, Fang and Dylan both like you Max. It's actually kind of disappointing."

"I don't really think so," says Nudge, "It would be weird if Fang or Dylan saw a boy and thought, 'Mmmm, Max.'"

I make a weird face, "What the- what's with the 'mmmm'?"

She shrugs, "I don't know, probably just some animalistic noise that males make. It sounded better in my head."

"It' not like I'm a meal or something," I say, and then redden at the connotation there.

We pull into my driveway, and I jump out of the truck, waving to Tess as Nudge climbs into the front seat.

"I'll do your makeup tomorrow, so come early!" Nudge shouts to me as I hop the steps up my porch. I wave a hand nonchalantly behind me, and slip inside my house.

I see my reflection in the mirror above the coat hanger and say, "Why hello, Maxzilla."

Man. I hope Nudge really is a 'makeup master.'

* * *

I stare at my reflection in Nudge's vanity mirror.

"Okay, count me impressed," I say. A very meticulous job with a foundation brush of some sort, and Nudge has made me 'un-black-eyed-ed.' Well okay, I've never really had a way with words.

Anyways, my injury from the day before is hidden to all those who are unaware of it's presence. Nudge grabs her purse off her nightstand and we go downstairs to my car parked in the driveway.

I check my face in the mirror one last time when we get to the school. Nudge gives me a thumbs up as we walk through the front doors, and we are quickly greeted by Tess, who just arrived herself.

"Wow, Nudge. You really _are_ the makeup master," she says.

"Why thank you," she says formally, looking very pleased with herself. And she should be. I thought I was going to have to come up with some lavish tale involving skateboarding and a frying pan.

Yeah, I don't know where that was going.

But I'm still unprepared for when I run into Fang in the hallway. I swear, no one watches where they are going these days.

I slip past him before I can meet his eyes, but he grabs my wrist, stopping me.

What? So now we're man-handling, are we?

"What happened to your eye?" He asks. I look at him, startled. I really thought Nudge did a good job- how could he even tell?

I don't know what to say, so I shift my gaze to his hand that grips my wrist, raising an eyebrow warningly.

He quickly removes his hand and I continue sliding past him, catching up to Nudge and Tess, who look at me wide-eyed.

"Okay, what the heck?" Says Tess, "Max, I swear you can't even tell that there is any mark on your eye whatsoever."

"Tell that to Fang," I huff, and realize my face is hotter than normal. Dang.

"No, seriously, somethings up," continues Tess. She looks thoughtful for a moment, and then levels her eyes back at me, "I think he knows."

"What? That's impossible," I counter. Wouldn't he have said something if he…

Oh. I guess he did say something.

Nudge gasps, "If he knows, he's probably wondering why you don't have a black eye from when he hit you!" She says.

"Man, you make it sound like he's abusive," I say offhandedly.

"That would only mean something if you were in a relationship with him," says Tess.

I roll my eyes, "We all know that that is _not_ happening. He's with Lissa, remember?"

"Correction," says Tess.

"He _was_ with Lissa. Yesterday, when we saw him," Nudge finishes for her. I take a second to be creeped out by their sentence connection.

I shake my head anyways, "Yeah yeah. Same thing. We should get going to class," I say, and start walking down the hall again, not waiting for them to follow me. I see Dylan right before I walk into my first hour class, and he shows no sign of recognition from yesterday. Only sadness. Oh yeah, I broke his heart. Or whatever.

I take a seat where I normally sit, and I can hear the song 'Human' by Christina Perri floating softly from the teachers computer up front. I take an uncaring glance around, not seeing Ms. Dwyer anywhere.

But I do, however, notice when she enters the classroom.

With Fang.

_Seriously?_ Does he have a thing for redheads or something?

They are obviously deep in conversation as they walk over to her desk. She laughs at something he says, and my grip tightens on the edge of my desk that I am now suddenly holding onto. She hands him something, a packet of some sort, and suddenly he looks up at me. Our eyes lock. I sniff and look away heatedly. My gaze creeps back towards the pair again, and I cringe when I notice her hand brush his as she hands him a second packet.

Oh that was totally on purpose. What is she thinking? He's like, five years younger than her! She's a teacher!

I'm fuming so I don't notice Fang come over to me until his face appears right in front of mine as he leans down to catch my attention.

"Gah!" I say, leaning back and away from him. I cross my arms, "Personaly space much?" I growl.

"Calm down, Maxy. Just trying to get your attention," he says, sitting in the desk next to me.

Wait, what? _Maxy?_

What the freaking heck?

I suddenly realize that that blow to my head yesterday has to be messing with my mental state, because this whole morning is starting to seem really weird. And annoying. And irritating. Because there is _no way_ he just called me-

"So Maxy, Ms. Dwyer wants us to organize a group study session for some students at lunch tomorrow. For extra credit and all that jazz."

I stare at him. Ok. I am definitely hallucinating.

"You okay?" I hear him say vaguely, "Maxy?"

"Arg! Would you quit _calling_ me that! What the heck is up with the weird pet name all of the sudden?"

Okay, I guess that could have come out a _little_ more suave.

Fang holds his hands up in mock surrender, "Okay okay. Sheesh, what's got your panties in a twist?"

My face reddens at his choice in words, and he seems to realize what he said and starts to blush too for some reason.

So when Nudge walks in, she is greeted by the current scene, of a blushing male sitting next to a beat red female, both with their eyes glued to their desks. And you just _know _how she's going to react to that.

Luckily, before Nudge can open her mouth, Lissa walks through the doorway, immediately calling, "Fang!" and walking over to where we are.

"Fangy!" She says, and I can't help but wonder _what the heck_ is with the nicknames today.

I see a muscle in Fangs jaw tense before he composes himself, answering, "Hey Melly."

My jaw drops. Fangy?_ Melly?_

"I have to use the bathroom," I say suddenly to no one in particular, practically leaping out of my desk before I fast walk out of the room.

Melly?

…

…

_Melly?_

**I'm not going to ask for reviews, because I know you all hate me right now since I was gone so long. And I won't tell you any of my excuses either. However, I ****_will_**** tell you that this story is about to get more exciting, with some Maya stuff and some Fax, so please hang on out there! **

**To My Reviewers:**

_**xxsmileyme123xx:**__** Glad that I can make at **__**least someone smile! And I am loving your new story! Keep updating please! Although I guess I'm not one to ask that...**_

_**Bananacorn17**__**: At least **_**someone**_** appreciates my evilness! Hahaha! Thanks for reviewing!**_

_**MaxxiMaxxMaxximum:**__** More Fax, coming right up! You'll like the next Fang chapter. He's got some things up his sleeve...**_

_**alyssa the lucky bird girl:**__** Yeah, you're right. Although I am aiming for them to get together by the end of this story, so they will have to overcome their grudges and such for the chance to be together.**_

_**ChiVall:**__** Thank you! That made my day...haha**_

_**RainbowReads**__**: Yeppy doo! More Fax is coming, and some drama stuff- prepare yourself!**_

_**Guest 'I am me':**__** Thanks! Will do!**_

_**Guest:**__** Sorry it took me so long for this one! I am trying to get things out, I just have a lot of other Fanfiction ideas I've been working on so I can publish them soon.**_

_**Dauntlessshadowhunter1127**__**: Thank ye! Keep reading'!**_


	17. What's Up

**Okay, since you are all super confused, I'm just going to post this chap as a FANG POV to set everything straight, and explain.**

**Also, I know it's short, but I have family over and we are going to a Fourth of July breakfast in like, ten minutes. Plus today is my favorite holiday! I really love America.**

**Ok, here's the chap. Drop a Review!**

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 17_

_What's Up_

FANG POV

Dang- I didn't actually think it would work.

And what happened to her black eye?

I turn to Lissa as soon as Max is out the door.

She grins at me, "Told you so," she says.

So here's the thing, in case you're wondering:

Yesterday I ran into Lissa while I was at the mall. My mom made me go buy some sort of girly lotion for her at Bath and Body Works, and Lissa got there just as I was hurrying out the door and away from all that femmy stuff, after buying the dang lotion.

"Oh, Nick!" She said.

"Oh, hey Lissa," I said, but continued to keep walking. All of the sudden she was walking next to me though.

"So how are things going with Max?"

Wait, what?

I stiffened at her question- I mean, that was kind of blunt, and how did she know about that anyways?

"Video," she said sheepishly, and as if reading my mind, she held up her phone in offered evidence.

"Huh," was all I said in reply.

All the sudden I heard her sigh next to me.

"I can help you get her you know. If you want," she said, glancing away.

I stopped, "Wait, really? Why?"

Lissa smiled, "It's obvious you guys have always had something for each other. Besides, Max is my friend and she needs to get herself some romance in her life," she laughed, "She hasn't liked someone in almost three years, I think."

Is it bad that I cheered a mini victory in my head when she said that last part?

"Oh really?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said, "So since I'm a girl, and you're a boy who probably has no clue how Max's mind works- no offense- I figured I could help you out."

"None taken," I said honestly, "But I'm just wondering, I mean, I know you sort of- well…"

She grimaced, "Oh, you knew about me liking you?"

I nod, looking away. I guess she wasn't shy about it. I mean, seriously, my mom tried to get me to ask her out again like fifty times.

But to my surprise, Lissa laughed, "Well really Nick, who doesn't like you?"

I almost responded, "Max," but I knew that wasn't true.

"So how can you help me?" I asked.

"Simple," she said, "If Max is the type of territorial girl I've pegged her to be, she will respond quite vehemently to the jealousy tactic."

"Jealousy?"

"Meaning," she blushed, "If you, I don't know, flirted with another girl."

I could tell she meant herself when she said that. Flirting? Yeah, I'd have to say I'm pretty good at it- except with Max, obviously. Go figure.

"Here, let me buy you something to eat and we can discuss the details," she said, smiling again.

"Okay," I said, still a little unsure. But hey, free food? Why not. And by this point, I'm willing to try anything to fix things with Max.

As we started to walk towards the food court, Lissa said, "So first off, nicknames."

"Nicknames?"

"Max calls you 'Fang' in stead of 'Nick' right?" She asked.

"Yeah," I actually never really thought of it before, but she's right. Angel and Gazzy were really the only other people who still called me that.

"So I bet it would really bug her if _I _called you Fang," she said.

"I don't know," I said, unsure, "I mean, Fang is still sort of my name, and plus that's just you calling my something different."

She huffed, "Okay, how about Fangy?"

I grimaced, "Oh, please n-"

"And you can call me Melly!"

Huh? Melly?

She seemed to catch onto my confusion, and stated, "Since my full name is Melissa. Melly is the nickname that my mom sometimes calls me."

"Oh," I said, "You really think that would work?"

"I'm pretty sure," she said.

"'Pretty' sure?"

"Okay," she said sheepishly, "Ninety nine percent sure, and we might as well try it, right?"

"I guess," I said.

"Okay, so there's that," she said, "And then there's also actually trying to be nice to Max."

"Yeah," I said, "I've never really excelled at…that."

She laughed, "Is it really that hard?"

I sighed, "I don't know why, but she just…I can't flirt with her like I can with normal girls. I never know what she's going to say, or do."

"Yeah, knowing her, she'd probably punch you in the esophagus," she laughed, but I winced, imagining it in my head.

"Well, maybe if you really really try, you can at least be a _little_ nicer to her," suddenly she perked up, "Maybe if you just start out being nicer little by little, so that it's not such a big shock to her! Yeah, that'd be good."

I mean, it seemed like a good plan, but on the other hand…

I kind of liked our bickering.

Well, I'll at least give it a try, I guess.

We ended up getting in line at the Panda Express. For a few minutes it was silent as she scanned the menu.

"What do you want to get?" She asked, suddenly close to me. I took a step back- to look at the menu above us of course, but also because I didn't really want to be that close to her.

I reached a hand up to scratch the back of my head thoughtfully, but all of the sudden my elbow made contact with something- something that felt suspiciously like a face- you know, from my elbows point of view.

I whirled around, and saw a guy standing there, cupping his hand around his eye.

"I am so sorry man, I didn't know you were behind me," I said.

"S' all good," he said, turning slightly away. And that's when I noticed something about his voice.

Something…oddly familiar…but it seemed out of place in this situation.

I nodded to him curtly, turning back around. Where had I heard that tone of voice before? And that sarcasm. Huh.

I glanced to my left to see Lissa looking over her shoulder, so I turned to look with her at the retreating group of guys.

"Wait a second," said Lissa, "Is that…"

"Max?" I questioned to the air.

But wait, in guy form?

All of the sudden Lissa started laughing beside me, "Oh my gosh!" She snickered, "I can't believe they actually did it!"

"Did what?" I asked her, confused. Why the heck was Max dressed like a guy? It was strangely…disturbing. I mean, how could I ever look at her the same way again?

"I overheard Ella and Iggy talking," said Lissa, "She was telling him about their wacko plan to dress up like guys and go out in public to see if they could pass it off, and how she was glad that she was busy going out with him instead so that she didn't have to go with them."

"Wait, really?" I asked. That was hilarious!

"I know, right? And they actually did a pretty good job," she said, "I don't think they expected to run into anyone they know."

So anyway, back to the present.

"Actually," I say to Lissa, "I think she might hate me, and that made it worse. I called her Maxy." I couldn't help myself, I just love irking Max. Her reactions are like…no other girls.

She rolls her eyes, "Whatever. Her reaction was in the bag, just trust me."

"What's going on here?" Asks a sing song voice. I look up to see Nudge.

"Oh, nothing really," says Lissa, hiding a smile.

"Oh come on," says Nudge, "If you're making a plan to get Max and Nick together, I want in. Besides, I already started mine."

Huh?

Lissa and I look at each other. Lissa grins.

"Sweet," says Lissa, "We are gonna be unstoppable."

Nudge says, "Awesome," she holds out both her hands for a hand shake, or uh, high five or something. I'm not really sure.

"Welcome to operation ," she says.

I look at her, confused.

" ?"

**DUN DUN DUNNNNNN**

**Haha, I guess this is a bitter sweet thing for Max, eh?**

**Anyways, I woke up this ****morning**** to a ****plethora**** of reviews, and it just made the start of today awesome!**

_**Guest 1**__**: Thank you!**_

_**Random Child**__**: My pleasure! I should be more consistent now.**_

_**RainbowReads:**__** Yay! Thanks for not killing me! I shall try my bestest to make my absence up.**_

_**fleeceinabox**__**: I hope this chapter sort of explained things...if it didn't, let me know!**_

_**Bird Kid Max**__**: Hope this chap explained stuff! Since in my story, her full name is Melissa, and people call her Lissa, but Melly is like her family nickname.**_

_**Virls 1 o 1**__**: Thanks!**_

_**maximumgirl23306**__**: Haha, yeah, I know.**_


	18. The Final Countdown

**Hey everyone, I absolutely promise that this is the last chapter before the FAX and drama. I just needed some set up for it! In fact, the story is almost over...just so you know. But the chapters are gonna be longer now. And I'm almost to 100 reviews! That's so awesome! You guys rock! Anyway, here you go.**

**Read and Review! :)**

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 18_

_The Final Countdown_

Nudge POV

I see Rachet and Star in the hallway. They're holding hands. I heard a rumor a few days ago, something to do with the Halloween dance or something. I take it as a good sign for Max- I mean, everyone knows that Star and Rachet have liked each other since day one- and they've been fighting the whole time too.

Angel comes over to me as I'm spying on the two- seemingly acting the same as they always did, except for it's clear that they mean it in a teasing manner by the way they look at each other.

"What are you looking at?" Asks Angel.

"Shhh," I shush her, grabbing her arm to pull her behind the shelter of my open locker door. I briefly wonder what she's doing in the senior hallway but brush it off as she laughs.

"Rachet and Star finally got together? It's about time," she says, shaking her blonde head.

"I know right?" I say, and then mutter, "Now we just gotta get a certain other oblivious couple together."

"Oh, you're talking about operation right?" She says casually to my surprise.

I stare at her warily, "How do you know about it?"

"Easy," she laughs, "Fang writes down things on his arms when they're hard for him to remember."

"I see," I say, "We're going to have to talk to him about that. It's supposed to be confidential."

"Oh don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she assures me, "As long as I can be part of it."

I sigh, but it would be nice to have another supporting member on the team.

"Okay," I say, "But don't tell Max."

"Well duh," she says.

"Oh and Lissa is helping too."

"Really?" She says, looking surprised, "But doesn't she like Fang too?"

I shrug my shoulders, "Yeah, but I think she can see that him and Max are meant for each other."

"Hmm," she hums thoughtfully.

I suddenly slam my locker closed when I see Max coming towards us.

"Hey Max!" I say cheerily, trying to appear non-suspicious.

She grunts, and then spots Angel, "What is she doing with you?"

"Uh…." I say.

Max narrows her eyes, "What are you guys planning?"

Angel smiles sweetly, and I'm glad she's way better at lyi- I mean, keeping secrets, than I am.

"We were just talking about Thanksgiving break," she says.

"Huh," says Max, and I just notice how she's holding her side.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

Max scowls at me, "Do I look okay?" She growls.

I smile suddenly and Angel turns to me with a worried expression. I reach into my book bag and pull out a small round case that rattles as I hand it over to her.

"Thanks," she grumbles, but I can tell she's grateful, "You're a good friend Nudge." And with that she walks down the hallway away from us.

"Nudge!" Angel says, aghast, "Did you just give her drugs?" She asks incredulously.

I laugh, "No, that was just ibuprofen."

She looks relieved, "Oh," she says, then in realization, "_Oh_."

"Yeah, you might want to steer clear of her for the next few days," I say.

She looks at me curiously, "So how will we get her and Fang together if she's all cramps and hormones for the next week?"

I grin and Angel eyes me warily, "Don't worry," I say, "When Max is on her period, she's either really cranky, or really mushy. And since I just gave her some ibuprofen to help with the cramps, she'll be pretty open to just doing whatever, as long as we keep her form being suspicious."

"You make it sound like she _is_ on drugs," says Angel.

"Max on her period, Max on drugs, same difference."

* * *

On Friday night, Ella, Tess, Max, and I decide to have a sleep over. It's day three of Max's period, so we decide to have the slumber party at her house where warm chocolate chip cookies are readily available.

"Hey Max," I say casually as she lies flopped on her bed, just having taken three ibuprofen.

"Hmmf," she groans.

"I kind of invited Angel, is that okay?"

"Hmmf," she says, so I take that as an 'I don't care.'

Ella comes upstairs with a plates stacked with cookies and places it on the nightstand next to Max. The doorbell then rings and she's jumps to answer it.

"I'm here!" I here Tess call from downstairs, and a few moments later her and Ella re-enter the room.

"How was your date with Iggy?" Tess asks Ella, who is still done up form her date with Iggy about an hour ago.

Ella blushes, her reaction not escaping my watchful eyes.

"Oh my gosh! Something happened didn't it!" I squeal, dropping her sleeping bag and backpack on the floor unceremoniously. Tess sits down on Max's giant bean bag while Ella cautiously takes a seat on the floor across from us. I sit down on the bed next to Max, who groans at the sudden movement.

"You have to tell us the whole date in detail," I tell her in a tone that conveys that she doesn't have a choice in the matter.

"Um…" she stars, suddenly shy on the subject. We hear the doorbell ring just as she's about to start her story. I jump up this time, knowing it's Angel. I run down the stairs to answer it. Angel stands there holding a sleeping sack and a pillow, Nick is standing just behind her.

"Why hello Angel," I usher her in, then cross my arms and face Nick, "You wanting to join our slumber party?" I ask Nick coyly.

He rolls his eyes, "I just thought you might have some idea's for our…" his gaze flickers past me for a moment, "operation. You know, that you might want to tell me, or something." He suddenly shifts uncomfortably, and I realize that he was probably hoping Max would open the door- since, you know, it's her house and all.

"Nothing much to update you on," I say, "The girls and I are going to try and figure some stuff out tonight, and we'll let you know."

"But…isn't Max here too?"

I give a small knowing smile, "Don't worry, Max sleeps like a rock when it's her time of the month."

He nods before the realization of what I said hits him.

"Yeah, okay," he says, gulping, "Let me know when she's, uh, safe to be around."

"Will do," I say shutting the door as he walks back to his motorcycle.

I walk back up stairs to find everyone sitting on the floor in a circle, the ibuprofen apparently kicking in for Max.

"So," I say, taking a seat in the circle, "Tell us about the date, _Ella_. He kissed you, right?"

Max suddenly sputters, spewing halfway chewed cookie out of her mouth, "Wha?" She exclaims, "_Kiss_?"

"Ignore your hormonal sister," I say to Ella, and urge her on, "Tell us."

Ella sighs, her cheeks still red, "Okay, but I'm only going to tell you once, and I don't want you to say anything until I'm done."

We all nod except for Max, who is still giving all onlookers a nice view of her chewed up cookie in her mouth.

"So he takes me on a picnic date, and he's made this awesome meal, cause you know, he's a great cook. So we go to that one swimming hole up by Three Pools, where we eat and talk and stuff, and it was actually pretty nice outside so we only needed our jackets," she takes a breath, and Tess and Angel and I are hanging on her every word (Max remains in her frozen state, chew-and-show still on), "And I'm telling him about how I want to become an airline pilot and he's just staring at me with this weird look on his face, like- well, like…"

"Like what?" Tess and I say at the same time.

She blushes deeper, "Like…um…like he really likes me or something…"

"Well duh," says Angel, "We all know he likes you."

"I know, I know," says Ella, "I just meant- like, it was more than that. I don't know, it's hard to explain."

I give Tess a knowing look and she grins.

"Anyway," says Ella, "I stopped talking because of the way he was looking at me, and he suddenly says, 'What would you do if I kissed you, right now?'"

Tess snorts, "Wow. Way to be subtle."

Ella blinks, "Well, it kind of was, because I didn't actually think he was serious. I didn't actually think he was going to kiss me. But he did."

"Wait wait wait," I say, "Back up and tell us the whole kissing thing in slow motion."

"Okay, well, er…so after he asked me that, I just started sputtering and saying random things and looking anywhere but him because how was I supposed to answer that, you know? It's not like I could say 'I'd probably die' because he might take it the wrong way and…"

We all look at her.

"I'm rambling, aren't I," she says, embarrassed.

"Just keep going," says Angel.

Ella takes a deep breath, "So I'm in the middle of this long stupid tangent that doesn't even make sense, and all of the sudden he just leans over to me- we were sitting down- and kisses me."

I squeal, "So? Was it long, short, wet, warm, gross, or what?"

If possible, she seemed to blush even more, "Well the first time it was just short and sweet, like, a peck you know?"

"Wait what?" I say, "The _first_ kiss? As in, _more than one_?" I hear an almost silent whimper from Max beside me.

"So he kissed you, and then what?" Says Tess.

"Um…So, he kissed me, and I was just sitting there staring at him in shock, you know? So I think he took it the wrong way and he kind of backed off, looking embarrassed. And I think he started to apologize or something for 'moving too fast' but I wasn't really listening," she takes a breath, "I mean, he just looked so cute, you know? Sitting there, blushing, his hair sort of tussled from the breeze. And so I just reached over and grabbed his hand, and kissed him."

We all sit there in shock, now looking like Max has this whole time.

"And it was nice. Like, really nice, cause he kissed me back. And it wasn't gross or wet or anything- it was soft and warm, and a few seconds I guess, and-"

She's cut off by Max this time, who finally decides to speak.

"He _what_?"

"Huh?" Ella replies to Max, confused.

Suddenly Max stands, "He is _so_ never having babies."

Tess and I jump up when we recognize Max going into protective 'mama mode.'

"Calm down mama bear, Ella's sixteen. And all they did was kiss- and she kissed him back," I say, a hand on her arm in case she decides to bolt. I'm still psyched about the whole romantic kiss thing, although part of me is amazed that Iggy had the balls to kiss her, knowing she's Max's sister and all. He probably wasn't thinking about that when he did it.

"Yeah," adds Tess, gripping Max's other arm, "Plus it doesn't really work like that. Guys don't have babies."

To all of our surprise, Max suddenly crumples and starts wailing about how 'Ella's just a baby' and 'my sister's growing up' and I think something about growing old alone with only chocolate as company or something.

It takes about ten minutes for us to calm her down, feeding her at least five cookies before she passes out on her bed.

"Wow," says Angel, "You weren't kidding about how crazy she gets. But do you really think that this will help us will our plans? I mean, what if it backfires?"

I shrug, "I wasn't really going to do anything while she's on her period, it's a little too risky. I just wanted to talk about some ways we can get them together."

"So?" Says Tess, taking a seat on the floor against the bed.

"So," I say, grinning, "Here's the plan."

* * *

Two hours and one mega- awesome plan later and we all start to drift off. I grab my phone before plugging it in to text the details to Lissa and Nick. Just as I'm starting to get drowsy, I hear Max speak softly.

"Nudge," she murmurs.

"Uh, yeah?" I whisper, wondering how long she's been awake for- or how much she's heard. My suspicions are soon quelled though as she says:

"I was wondering, do you think I should go visit Maya?"

I'm sort of confused at the randomness of the question, "What do you mean?"

"Ari came by the other day, and he says he thinks me and her should meet. For reals this time. I don't know. Do you think I should go?"

It's rare that she would ask me for advice, so I know this is serious.

"Actually, I think it might help, with coming to terms with it and stuff- but only if you want to."

"Yeah," she says, and I hear her yawn, "Maybe I'll go tomorrow. I called the clinic a few days ago and they said their Saturday visiting hours are from four to six."

I smile as I realize that she was already planning on going. Even though I hated Maya for what she did to Max, they were still sisters- twins, in fact- and maybe under normal circumstances they could work things out.

I fell asleep just after my thoughts drifted back to our plan to get Max and Fang together. It made me remember something.

_Flashback- Freshman Year- Why Max Hates Valentines Day_

_It was kind of getting old- the whole Max and Nick rivalry thing. Max had finally confided in me that she still liked him a few days ago, and I have to say I was pretty shocked. She is _really_ good at pretending she hates his guts. But I just don't get it- if she likes him, why are they so mean to each other? I guess Nick kind of had changed; I never really noticed before. To think that last year Max had confessed to him on Valentines Day- through her Valentines card, of course, but still. _

_Knowing she still likes him, I can't help but feel my stomach drop when I walk into first hour. I mean, it's pretty common knowledge that Nick's been flirting with Lissa, but it's still a shock to see the rose sitting on her desk. Some students are milling around the classroom, and Max isn't here yet. _

_I sit down at my desk, eyeing the rose. Maybe it's not from him…there are a lot of guys who could like Lissa…_

_Suddenly she walks into the classroom with some other girls- they squeal when they see the rose on her desk. Lissa tries to play it cool, walking over to it and picking the rose up, but she can't help but smile when she says, "It's from Nick."_

_I think I'm the only one who notices Max standing in the doorway, frozenly watching as Lissa is jostled by some girls who are freaking out about Nick giving her a rose. I watch as Max robotically walks past the oblivious girls to her seat- which is unfortunately right next to Lissa's. Things finally seem to calm down, but then Nick walks into the room, stopping by Lissa's desk which is right in front of his own._

_"__Hey," he says to Lissa. _

_She smiles at him, "Thanks for the rose."_

_He scratches the back of his head, seemingly embarrassed, but I catch the glance he throws in Max's direction. He looks away when he see's her studiously avoiding the seen- looking out the window. It's almost imperceptible, but I see his gaze harden a little. Could it be that he cares what she thinks?_

_I guess not. By the end of the day, him and Lissa are a couple._

_End flashback_

_**Okay! Review Response Time!**_

_**Guestgirl:**__** Thanks! The next one is in his as well.**_

_**ChiVall**__**: Since her full name in my story is "Melissa"- Thus, Melly**_

___**And for some reason every time I try to put in the "operation" name, it won't come up on the site. It's **_

_**supposed to be "operation " but in all caps.**_

_**alyssa the lucky bird girl**__**: Yeah! I promise that is coming in the next two chaps!**_

_**RainbowReads**__**: Yeah I don't get why Lissa is always the mean girl, but I don't mind her so whatever. **_

_**fleeceinabox:**__** I'm sorry! I swear that the Fax is coming in the next two chapters! I swear!**_

_**maximumgirl23306**__**: Thanks! The story's almost done!**_

_**Random child**__**: yeah, sorry i been busy, but the next chapters should be good and the story's almost at it's end!**_

_**FAXalltheway:**__** Thank you! I think you are the only one who isn't impatient with me about the Fax haha! I'm trying to spread it out.**_

_**xxsmileyme123xx:**__** thanks for forgiving! I am loving your newest story! And I also like your last chap in Speak to Me Always, I was like, they better kiss! And they did! haha**_


	19. Confession

**Hey guys! This chapter is awesomely long, hope you like it! Lots of drama, and Fax! (finally, I know). I'm interested to know what you think, so leave a review! **

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 19_

_Confession_

Fang POV

The Plan.

With Thanksgiving break coming up, Nudge and Tess said that was the perfect time to get things going with Max. They invited me on their ski trip a few weeks from now, saying it would be a surprise if I showed up there. They also said to bring my gang, so that it seemed more casual.

Man, with all of this planning, I feel like I'm in a cult or something.

Anyway, the "prime objective"-as Nudge called it- is to use the day to my advantage, treating her better than I normally do and eventually confessing.

Okay, it sounded cheesy, but I figured, hey, what do I have to lose. If anything, we'll just continue with our normal banter like always.

"So Fang," Angel says, wiggling her eyebrows. She just got home from the sleep over at about eleven this morning, "I bet you're eager to get this show on the road, huh?"

"What?" I asked, pulled out of my thoughts.

"You know, you finally get to confess to Max. I'm sure if you need someone to practice on, Lissa would be willing to help."

I rolled my eyes at her teasing comment. I'm sure Nudge told Lissa about the plan and all that. In fact, they probably have a secondary plan of their own, them being girls and all.

"I know, I know," Angel continued, taking a seat at the counter as I poured myself some cereal. Hey, I was up late last night…for no particular reason…so I'm having a late breakfast, "Max is the only one for you."

"What's this about Max?" I hear my mom's voice say suddenly as she walks into the kitchen, "You know she's trouble Nick, you'd do best to stay away from her."

I raised an eyebrow. My mom never really talked about Max before- probably because I never mentioned her after our 'falling out' or whatever. I never really told my mom things anyway, so I couldn't help but wonder what she could have against Max.

"How's she trouble?" I ask carefully.

My mom sighs, retrieving a protein shaker from the cupboard, "You can just tell by her appearance that she isn't a good roll model. She obviously has no care for how she dresses."

"She follows the dress code," I say, "Just like everybody else."

Okay, so maybe Max doesn't care so much what everyone else thinks. I kinda like that about her.

"I'm just saying," continued my mom, "You'd do best to stay away from her."

"So you said," I muttered under my breath. This was a wall I forgot I would have to cross eventually. That is, if everything worked out and I started dating Max.

"I like Max," pipes up Angel, "She's funny, and nice, and really pretty."

I mentally add my own 'ditto' to that, but keep silent as my mom doesn't comment and pulls some milk from the fridge.

After breakfast, I go back to my room, unplugging my phone to see a text from Iggy.

_Man, I did it._

_Did what?_ I type back.

_I finally kissed her._

_Who, Ella?_ I ask.

_No, the Loch Ness monster- of course it was Ella. I've only been dating her for the past two months._

_So did she slap you? _I type. Send.

_No way man. She kissed me back. It was awesome._

_Well don't worry, I'm sure you'll get plenty of violence from Max._

_Oh crap_, I read his text and smirk.

_You forgot about her, didn't you._

_Crap crap crap._

_Hey, _I say,_ maybe if you tell her it was your first kiss, she'll go easy on you._

_Like I'd tell her that._

_Okay man, just trying to help_

_Yeah, I know. Max is so going to kill me though._

_Did you tell Ella?_

_Tell her what?_

_That she was your first kiss._

_…_

_…_

_No._

_I see._

"Hey Fang," says Angel, walking into my room with Total trotting beside her. I give the dog a pointed look and Angel sighs, picking him up and placing him outside the door before shutting it.

"What's up?" I say, casually setting down my phone and walking over to my dresser to grab a t-shirt.

"So I heard something interesting last night," she says.

"Oh yeah?" I say, feigning interest.

"It's about Max."

I look up then, genuinely interested this time.

"What about her?" I ask, pulling my shirt over my head and putting on the new one.

"Her and Nudge were talking when they thought everyone else was asleep, and I heard Max say she was going to visit Maya today."

I freeze, then cross my arms and turn back to her.

"What?"

"She's going to see Maya today, at the facility downtown around four, I think. She said something about Ari dropping by last week to ask her to go."

"But why?" I ask.

She shrugs, "Beats me, I just thought that might interest you."

"But why would she want to go see Maya?" I question out loud, mostly to myself. Well, I guess I kind of knew why…but still, Maya tried to kill her. I sit down on my unmade bed, running a hand through my hair.

"Again, I don't know," says Angel, "I think they want to work things out or something. Why don't you go see for yourself?"

"What?" I say, looking to her confusedly.

"That's like, the third time you've said that. And yeah, go to the facility today, if you're worried. Use it as an excuse to see Max or whatever."

"She'd think I'm a stalker or something. I can't just show up out of no where, it'd be too obvious."

"Then say you wanted to see her yourself, that Ari said you could, or something."

I ponder this for a moment. I mean, I guess that could work. I do want to see Max.

"Maybe," Is all I say. Maybe I would go.

* * *

Okay, so I guess it's kind of obvious that I went- I mean, how could I stay away?

That sounded weird.

Anyways, I'm standing outside the Downtown Salem Psych Ward at four fifteen, just now realizing that Max might not even come here for a while. After all, visitor hours were two hours long. I'm just starting t re-think my plan when I hear a familiar voice behind me.

"Stalker much?" Says Max. I knew it.

"What are you talking about, I got here first," I counter.

"And why would you come here? Oh I know, you want to check yourself in, don't you," she smirks. I notice that she has her hair down, and it makes something inside me tweak involuntarily.

"Haha," I say, "I'm here to see Maya."

"Maya?" She asks, sounding surprised, then dubious, "Why would you come to see her?"

I shrugged, "More ammo against you?" I offer, shrugging.

"Jeeze, I'm so flattered you think of me that often," she says flatly, "You can leave now. I'm here for a _family _visit."

"And I'm here to visit my _friend's sister_, I have a right too you know. There aren't any rules against it."

"We're not friends," she says.

Good to know. That's not what I wanted anyways.

"I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about Ari."

She looks startled, "What? When did you talk to him?"

I shrug.

"Whatever," she says, back to cold-shoulder Max. She walks past me up the stairs to the front doors of the building. I follow, proud of myself for being able to counter her like that. I take it as permission that I can stay.

Max walks up to the front desk, and I stand next to her. I can feel her bristle, and I smirk to myself.

"I'm here to see Maya Batchelder," she says to the desk lady.

"Me too," I add. The lady nods and takes our names before buzzing the door to her left to unlock it. I hold the door open for her and she stalks past me, avoiding my gaze. We have to have our persons checked before we can enter the visiting center, which takes a few minutes. Max smirks at me as the lady there pats me down.

In the next room, there is a single glass wall with a counter I can see on both sides. A speaker system connects the two, the whole thing reminding me of a jail visit from some TV show. Max takes the seat at the counter, and I pull one up next to her, shoving my hands in my pockets and letting my legs slouch forward. A few seconds later, Maya enters the room on the other side of the glass wall. She freezes up a bit as she see's Max. Her gaze flickers to me for a moment, before she continues in and sits down at the chair on her side.

There's an awkward silence. I clear my throat.

"Hi," I say. Max glares at me. What? No one was saying anything.

"Who are you?" Maya asks me blatantly.

"I'm Fang. Fang Walker," I say. Max's glare turns to a look of surprise. She's probably wondering why I told Maya my old name, and not 'Nick.' Honestly, I don't know why either.

"Who are you to her? Her boyfriend?"

Max stiffens and I can't help but tick off number three in my head. She's the third person to assume that, right after Jeb and that one lady at the mall.

"He's just a guy from my school," says Max, and Maya's gaze turns back to her.

Well yeah, obviously it hurt that I was 'Just a guy from school.' I'd have to work on that.

"Max," says Maya evenly.

"Maya," Max replies in an equal tone. And I actually can hear a prominent difference in their voices. Maya's is higher than Max's, and I think she's had some sort of other-state American accent. At some point. I snort.

They both look at me.

"What's so funny?" Max asks, narrowing her eyes.

"You guys talk different," I say simply.

"Well yeah," says Maya, "We _are_ different people."

"I know," I say, crossing my arms.

Maya sits back in her chair and Max rolls her eyes.

"So, you came to visit your crazy twin," says Maya. I mentally take note that she doesn't _sound _crazy. Not at all. Nothing like the person who tried to kill-

"Just so you know, I'm not apologizing for trying to kill you," Maya continues, "I still want you gone."

Well. Never mind.

"Hey," Max says, "I don't like this either. I just found out I'm adopted. Oh, _and_ that I have a crazy homicidal sister."

Man, these two sure weren't beating around the bush.

"Why are you here?" Asks Maya.

"Ari."

Maya's gaze seems to soften at the mention of her brother.

"Of course he would have something to do with this."

"Well yeah," says Max, "Apparently he doesn't want you in a psych ward."

"Hey, it's not like I want to be here, _sister_," says Maya.

"I talked with Ari about that," says Max, "He says that if we can work things out between us, he can finagle a way to get you out of here."

"Hm," hums Maya.

"Don't ask me why," says max, "But I'm willing to try. Despite the beautiful gift you gave me," she gestures to the long scar on her arm, which I haven't really seen at all since she's usually wearing a jacket at school. The scar goes from her upper wrist to almost the middle of her forearm.

"I want to get out of here," huffs Maya, "But I'm not apologizing."

"Good," replies Max, "Cause I wouldn't forgive you even if you did."

"I take medication you know."

"Yeah, I figured as much since, you know, you'd didn't go all rabid on me when you came in here," Max says, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

It's silent for a few moments as Max and Maya give each other a stare down. Then suddenly, they stand up a the same time, their chairs screeching on the linoleum floors. Max gives no sign of farewell, simply saying, "I'll visit later."

I follow her out of the room, past the security and into the lobby. Max is walking fast but skids to a stop in front of me when she spots her mom.

Oh boy. Something tells me Max didn't tell her daughter about this little visit.

"Maximum Ride," says Dr. Ride in a stern tone. And I know we're in trouble.

"Hey Mom, what you doing here?" Asks Max casually.

"No Max, what are _you_ doing here?"

"Uh, visiting my _twin_ of course," Max answers in a 'duh' tone.

I can tell they haven't spoken much on the subject when Dr. Ride stiffens at the word 'twin.'

"I never gave you permission to come here," she says.

"I don't need your permission to visit my own family," says Max adamantly, "And could you save the lecture for later? There's someone else here, if you hadn't noticed."

Max's mom seems to see me for the first time, but I'm surprised when all she says is "Fang," and gives me a nod. I only have to assume that here civilness to me has something to do with the hospital incident a month ago.

"We're going home Max," says Dr. Ride, "And I need you to promise me you won't ever come here again." She starts walking towards the exit, pulling Max behind her. Man, there's a sight I thought I'd never see- Max being manhandled. Or woman handled, in this case.

Unsurprisingly, Max pulls her arm from her mothers grip, rubbing it a little. Dr. Ride seems to realize that she grabbed the wrong arm, but quickly covers her embarrassment with another stern face.

"No Mom. Actually, I'm planning on coming here everyday after school from now on. I need a new hobby since soccers over," Max says innocently. Or, as innocent as she can sound. Is it just me, or is she purposely trying to irk her mom?

Max's mom, on the other hand, looks flabbergasted at her daughters words. Max walks past her, grabbing me by the hand on the way. A jolt of electricity goes through me as our hands touch, and I know she feels it too by the almost indistinguishable pause she gives, before pulling me out the facility doors and into the cool air.

As if fate likes playing tricks on us, we then run into Jeb Batchelder, who is walking up the stairs as we walk down. He looks up at us, surprised.

"Max?" He says softly. Oh yeah, I forgot they haven't even met yet.

Max's grip on my hand tightens, and I feel a flip in my stomach.

"Ehem. Excuse me," she says nervously, walking on past him. Wait what? She's just going to pretend that she didn't just run into her long lost dad on the sidewalk?

Jeb's shoulders slump in a defeated manner, but he taps my shoulder lightly as I pass with Max, saying, "Remember what I said."

I don't answer, but Max looks at me warily, asking the question with her eyes. I look away as I remember just exactly _what_ Jeb said at the hospital. And him seeing us holding hands probably only further convinced him that I was hers.

I wish.

Max pulls me out into the parking lot and lets go of my hand. I immediately feel the loss. She turns to me, putting a hand on her hip.

"Okay. Talk," she says demandingly.

I glance back at the facility, "Shouldn't we warn Jeb that your mom is in there?"

Max huffs, "If she didn't want trouble, she shouldn't have followed me here."

I cross my arms, "Okay." I turn to walk away but she grabs my arm.

"We're not finished here," she says, "What did my- er, Jeb mean about what he said to you?"

"I don't know," I try.

She snorts, "Yeah right. I saw your face get red. What did he tell you- and when did you guys even talk anyways?"

I pause before answering, "It was at the hospital, while you were under," I pause again, longer this time, and she looks at me expectantly.

"He told me to stay with you," I say in a lower tone, avoiding her eyes.

She turns around suddenly so her back is to me.

"Oh," is all she says.

"So that's why I'm here," I say, getting an idea, "I have to keep my promise. I'm coming with you when you visit from now on."

Yeah, of course I know how 'knightly' that sounds, but I need an excuse, so what?

"What makes you think I'll let you?" She says, facing me again.

"What makes you think you can stop me?" I say back, smirking.

She stares at me for a long moment, and I wonder what she's thinking.

"I…don't get you," she says finally.

Huh. Join the club.

She pulls her keys out of her pants pocket- cargo pants, I vaguely notice. She opens her car door, but before she gets in she says, "I'll be here at three on Monday," not looking at me. I smile this time. A real smile. But luckily she doesn't see it as she pulls out of her spot and drives away. I walk to my car, still smiling like an idiot.

* * *

On Monday, we meet in front of the facility at three. The visit with Maya is much like before, but by the end of the week I can tell they are warming up to each other. As we're walking out into the lobby on Friday, I spot Kate walking in the front doors.

I'm confused. What is Kate doing here?

"Max, Nick," she says, then gets a weird look on her face. Probably wondering what in the heck we are doing here together. I mean, not _together _together, but- yeah whatever.

"Kate," says Max, in a strangely good mood for having just talked to Maya, "What are you doing here?"

Kate shifts nervously, which is a strange sight to see, considering she's…well… Kate.

"I'm visiting my mom," she says quietly.

"Oh," says Max. There's a moment where we both let it sink in. Her mom? I've known Kate for a while- how did I not know her mom was in a clinic?

"Are you here to see Maya?" Asks Kate.

"Yeah," Max answers. I look towards the doors when I hear them open, about to tell Max we should get going- but then I see who it is.

"Ari," I say in greeting. He looks shocked- to say the least. Max looks at him cooly, and Kate sort of just stands there.

"This is Ari," says Max to Kate. Kate nods, and Ari steps forward to shake her hand- which I find weird. He then turns back to Max.

"I'm actually glad I ran into you- I have some exciting news," he says.

"Oh?" Max says, raising an eyebrow, no doubt wondering what he could possibly have to say that might interest her.

Ari smiles, "Thanks to your visits, the doctors say Maya's getting better. They say her stable brain condition may even allow her to be released as soon as the eighteenth."

The eighteenth. That's almost a week from now.

"Really?" Says Max, "That's soon."

"I know," he says, grinning, "So, do you usually bring your friends to visit her with you?"

"No," she says, and we see his face fall a bit, "Only Fang. Kate's just here to see her mom."

"Oh, well…feel free to bring people in to see her- I think it'd be good if she made some friends."

"I'll think about it," she says. I notice that Kate is just staring at Ari. What's up with that?

"Anyway," Max says, "I'll see you later." She starts walking to the doors and I follow her.

"I'll call you," Ari calls out, "If she get's release soon, I was thinking of having a homecoming party."

Max waves a hand up behind her in recognition, but continues out into the sunlight. I can't help but notice the way the sun makes her hair glow.

Okay. Forget I said that.

"Did you see that?" Max says suddenly, turning to me.

"What, Ari?" I say, confused.

"Well yeah, _and_ Kate," she says.

"Uh, yeah. It was weird that we ran into both of them."

She shakes her head, "No, I mean, did you see the way she looked at him?"

I raise an eyebrow thoughtfully. So I _wasn't_ the only one who noticed the weird looks.

"Yeah, that was weird," I say, not really sure what the point is.

"So, she's obviously interested," Max says, crossing her arms.

"Really?" I say unsurely.

"Yeah," she answers, "And for some reason that does't bother me."

Huh. Max the matchmaker. Who knew, right? I mean, first it was Star and Rachet, and now her stepbrother and Kate.

"Wait a second," I say, "Ari's twenty four."

She looks a little surprised, so I know she didn't know that, but she says, "Well, she turned eighteen in September, right?"

"…Yeah…"

"Who knows?" She says, "It might work out." And then she smiles.

I stare.

Luckily she doesn't notice my gawking and heads to her car.

"See you later," she calls back at me, and I nod- mostly to myself.

And then I realize something.

Max and I are actually _getting along_. Nudge must be having a hay-day.

I think back to every day this week. We haven't exactly been talking at school, but we haven't been fighting either. That's an improvement, right?

I walk to my motorcycle, pulling out my phone to answer a text from Iggy.

* * *

Turns out, Maya did get released on the eighteenth. And Ari did decide to have a 'homecoming party.' He texted Max the details, which she then told me the next day after school.

"Ari's having a party for Maya tomorrow night," she says to me after I wipe my mouth from the drinking fountain. This is the first time we've really talked in school for the past few weeks. Well, since we stopped fighting.

"He told me to invite you," she says, "And any of our other friends who want to come. I'm going to bring Tess and Nudge. Ella and Iggy will probably come. You should invite your friends too."

I look at her, and she seems to flush under my gaze. I can't tell if it's because I haven't answered her yet… or…..well I'm just going to pretend it's because of me.

"So yeah," she continues, "It's at six thirty. At his house. I can pick you up if you don't remember where he lives."

I'm startled at her offer, but I smile, "It's a date."

She stares at me for a moment, before regaining her composure and stating firmly, "It's a party. Not a date." She turns to walk away.

"I didn't mean it _that _way," I say, smirking, "But now I know what you're thinking about."

"Oh please," she says, "You made it sound that way. Whatever, I'll pick you up at six."

She walks away from me, down the hallway.

My mouth quirks up in a sort of grin.

"It's a date," I repeat, under my breath this time.

* * *

I look at myself in the mirror, running a hand through my hair again and then patting it down. I'm wearing a casual black T-shirt and some gray washout jeans. Black converse on my feet.

Okay, I know it's not really a date, but I'm still nervous. It's stupid.

"Ohh, Fang's getting all dressed up for his woman," Angel says from my doorway.

"Whatever," I say, straightening my shirt for the fourth time, "She's not 'my woman.'"

"Yet," Angel grins. I don't say anything, but a grin quirks at my own lips. Yeah, _yet_.

I hear a car honk and head down the stairs, Angel behind me.

Yeah, so it's not a date. And Angel's coming with us, so I really shouldn't be so nervous.

But I am.

"Hey," I say to Max as I slide into the passenger seat. Angel gets in the back.

"Hey Max!" She says brightly. Is it weird if I _like_ the fact that my sister really likes Max?

"Hi Angel," she smiles, and then turns to me- still smiling, but softer now.

"Hi Fang," she says. My hear pounds in my ears. What the heck?! All she did was say hi!

"So apparently Kate is totally into Ari!" Angel says, "I heard her mention to Star that they've been talking every time they run into each other at the psych clinic, crazy huh? But isn't he lie, twenty-something?"

I listen as Angel talks on about Kate and Ari, and it only takes about three minutes to get to Ari's and Maya's.

We're the first one's to get there, I think. Max goes straight to the cookie table, and Angel goes to talk to Maya. She was scared at first, but once she heard about our Maya visits, she became more curious and wanted to meet Maya for herself.

I walk up to Ari, who's setting up some plastic cups, "Jeb here?" I ask nonchalantly, glancing at Max.

"Na," he says, "He had a late shift. He knows about the party though."

"Oh," I say, stuffing my hands in my pockets.

"So," Ari says, scratching the back of his head, "Any of your, uh, friends coming?"

"Yeah, they should be here in a bit," I say cooly. If it weren't for Max, I probably wouldn't have noticed the real question behind his words. _Is Kate coming?_

I swear I'm the only one who thinks it's weird that Ari is six years older than Kate.

"So you guys are friends, right?" I say. making conversation.

"Oh, uh, yeah," he seems to get his bearings, "Kate's really nice, and she goes to visit her mom at the clinic a lot."

I nod my head at this information I already know.

"It's just nice to have someone to relate to, you know? Someone who doesn't freak out when they hear about your family issues," he has a slight smile on his face as he keeps talking, but I kind of zone out.

I can't really help it- Max is already on her fifth cookie.

We lock eyes while she's in mid-chew, and I smirk. She narrows her eyes, and then opens her mouth at meet to show off all her chewed up cookie. I wrinkle my nose- I mean, that _is_ pretty gross.

"I know, it's weird," says Ari, and I realize that he thinks that face is meant for whatever he said.

"She's six years younger than me, I know," he says, "But I feel like there's some sort of connection. I guess I haven't dated much though," he ends sheepishly. I scratch the back of my head awkwardly.

"Uh, yeah…" I'm not really good with the whole 'matchmaking' thing. Luckily for me, everybody else chooses to show up then.

Rachet and Star come in- holding hands as always, and Angels introduces them to Maya. Holden and Tess come in- also holding hands- and Iggy and Ella follow them, probably fresh from a date. Lissa and Nudge are there too, heading over to talk to Max. Kate enters last, immediately spotting Ari and heading over.

"Hi," she says shyly- which is really weird for Kate, let me tell you.

She then seems to see me, but I just give a little salute and head over to Max. That way, everyone will be happy.

Max looks up as I join the group, which Maya has also joined, I notice. Somethings off, though.

"Fang," Maya says, "Who's that girl talking to Ari?"

"Huh?" I say, "Oh, that's just Kate." Has he never mentioned her to Maya?

"Hm," she says, "Well I should probably go take my pills." She heads off to where I assume the kitchen is.

I turn back to Max, and she's watching Ari and Kate with sly eyes.

Nudge catches my stare and grins at me, wiggling her eyebrows. Next week is Thanksgiving break, so we have the whole week off of school. And Monday is the ski trip.

But I've been re-thinking "the plan."

I mean, it's good and all- but this whole week things have been going great for Max and I- relatively- and that was all without any help from the girls (unless you count Angel for telling me about the psych ward visiting hours).

I kind of just want to handle it myself. Plus, I don't know if I'll be ready to confess on Monday. Max and I have been getting along, but…

I don't know.

I don't really get a chance to talk to Max throughout the night. It's around nine when most everyone starts to head home. Kate and Ari have been talking the whole evening, and is it just me, or does Maya look kind of like a ravenous lion?

Angel comes up to me when I'm all by my lonesome, raiding the Doritos bag. Lissa and Max are saying goodbye's at the door.

"Go out to the front yard in five minutes," she says.

"What? Why?" I question with a mouth full of chips.

"Just do it. I'll get Max to go out there and you can talk to her- don't give me that look, I know you've been wanting to all evening."

I sigh in defeat and head to the front door, passing Max on the way. She gives me a dubious look.

"Just getting some fresh air," I say, before stepping out into the night. It's pretty cold out here, since I left my jacket inside, but I don't want to go get it, so I stay.

Two minutes pass, and I hear the door open suddenly. Max suddenly rushes past me in a flurry, running straight out into the street- just as a car drives by.

It's like slow motion, and I can't do anything. The car is clearly driving to fast for a neighborhood area, and as it smashes into Max's body, my heart stops. Time freezes as the breath feels like it's sucked out of my lungs.

Her body looks mangled, landing in a heap in on the side of the road as the car screeches to a halt and then turns around- a hit and run. The bastard. I stare in shock.

No.

This can't be happening.

Max is….

"No!" Cries a voice from the doorway, "Someone call 911!"

Wait…Max? I turn to the voice, and sure enough, it's her. And I stare.

It wasn't Max who go hit by the car. It was Maya.

I'm instantly flooded with relief- not even feeling guilty.

"Max," I croak out, and suddenly I can breath again. She doesn't hear me though, as I just stand there.

Ari suddenly rushes out the door with a cry, "Maya!" He shouts, running to her broken body.

"I called an ambulance!" Angel says, appearing outside as well. I barely register that she's shaking from shock, the open phone still in her hand. Max moves then, running over to Maya just as police sirens are heard. I briefly realize how lucky it is that the nearest hospital is only a few minutes away.

Ella and Iggy walk out onto the porch, Ella clutching his arm and Iggy surveying the seen with wide eyes. He spots Maya, and looks away, cringing.

"Maya!" Ari is crying. Kate is almost silent as she stands on the porch next to me. For a moment I wonder how she go there, but my gaze turns back to Max, marveling.

Max.

Max.

I can't stop looking at her. And I know it isn't appropriate for the situation, but I can't help it.

Seems like I can't help it a lot, these days.

An ambulance pulls up, and medics quickly but carefully maneuver Maya onto the stretcher. It happens fast as Ari jumps in the ambulance with her, and it drives off- sirens blaring. I vaguely notice police cars pull up, and they start asking a stunned Max questions. She shakes her head a few times as she talks, and then looks back, spotting me. She points in my direction and an officer heads over.

He asks me some questions, since I was the only one to witness the whole scene. I answer offhandedly, not all there. A few minutes later we are released to go to the hospital, and we all cram into Max's car- Iggy and Ella in the front since Max is too frazzled to drive. At the hospital everyone jumps out, and we are led by Max to the emergency room, where only she is admitted. The rest of us sit down in the lobby chairs. A few hours go by, and I assume Maya is in intensive surgery. Iggy eventually decides to take Ella home, along with dropping off everyone else in Max's car.

I tell him I'm going to stay, and he just nods. Angel wants to too, but I give her one look and she decides not to argue with me. It's only five minutes later when Max enters the lobby. She looks around and spots me in a chair, heading over to sit in the one next to me. She leans over her knees. Face in her hands.

"Kate," is all she says, and I look at her. She turns to me, and I notice how exhausted she looks. But still…beautiful.

"She saw Kate and Ari. They were in the kitchen, and Kate kissed him," she sighed, "I walked in but saw them and decided to leave to give some privacy. He kissed her back, y'know. But….then Maya came in to get some water or something, and I tried to stop her, but she saw them over my shoulder."

Agh, she just freaked out. I think she forgot to take her pills too. Cause all of the sudden she's screaming and rushing outside, and Kate and Ari look up startled, and see me, and then we hear this awful noise and Maya's…."

She trails off, but then takes a deep breath, "She's going to be okay," she says, smiling lightly, relieved, "I few broken bones, internal bleeding, but they patched her up."

I haven't said anything the whole time. She leans back over. Head in her hands.

And I know I have to do it,

I take out my phone and text Nudge.

_I have to do it now,_ I type.

_Wait, what? Do what? _

_It can't wait._

_Wait…you mean confess? But why? Why right now?_

I shove my phone in my pocket, not answering. Standing up, I step in front of Max. She looks up at me, confused.

"I need to talk to you. Right now," I say, and without waiting for a reply, I pull her up by her hand and walk towards the exit.

"Wait, what?" She says, trying to pull away, but I press onward.

Once outside the hospital, a pull her over to the decorative fountain in the front, where there's a little lighting. I let go of her hand and she crosses her arms.

"I love you."

Wait, waitwaitwaitwait! That is _not_ what I was planning on saying. At least…not yet.

She looks at me, her mouth dropping open.

"Is this some sort of sick joke?" She says, looking angry now.

I shake my head, "No. Max, I-" I run a hand through my hair.

"I can't explain it. I know I've liked you for a while, but when I saw…"

She just stares at me, speechless.

I try to explain:

"Max, when Maya got hit by that car- I thought it was you. I thought… I thought you were _dead_.

My heart stopped- at least, it felt that way. I couldn't breathe…I just…" I take a step forward.

"I need you to know. I love you, Max."

She takes a step back, turning, "No, you don't."

I stand there, taken aback, "Wha- yes I do!"

"No, you don't Fang. How could you love me? All we ever do is fight!"

"Not this week!" I protest, "For the last couple of weeks, we haven't fought at all."

"Fang, you're crazy. You can't actually love me in that amount of time. You can't go from hate to love in a couple of weeks!"

"But that's the thing!" I say vehemently, "I never hated you!"

"You could've fooled me," she mutters.

"We-well you weren't that nice either!"

"I'm not the one confessing, am I?" She yells, and I realize she's right. And it's obvious how she feels.

"I see," I say in a low tone.

"It could never work," she says, and I've never heard her use the tone of voice she's using now. It's almost like…regret?

"Yeah, okay. I get it," I say. Now I turn away, looking off into the parking lot, not knowing what to do with myself.

"We fight too much," she repeats softy.

"Yeah," I agree flatly, "I guess so."

I spot a car pulling up, and recognize it as Max's. Iggy rolls down his window and spots me. I start walking to the car so he can take me back to Ari's.

And then I realize that it's over. Well, whatever 'it' was. I get it. I'll never have a chance with her.

I just have to give up.

**Okay! Before you freak out, I like ****_happy_**** endings. So don't worry, it will all be good! Let me know what you think of the drama though, and if anything didn't make sense, let me know too! **

_*****The next chapter is the last one for this story*****_

_**Anyways, review time! You guys rock! I got so many and finally past the 100 mark!**_

_**fleeceinabox:**__** haha thanks! Hope you liked the Fax in this chapter and hope you like the next one to!**_

_**FAXalltheway:**__** haha I'm glad you think that too! Oh and the rose was meant for Lissa- it's kind of a Fang popularity thing, he wanted Lissa cause Max kind of turned him down, but only because he was being all lame and flirty with other girls. It's **__**complicated**__** haha.**_

_**Random child**__**: :)**_

_**RainbowReads**__**: Haha thanks! The next chapter is my favorite, as I've been planning it since the beginning! Hope you like!**_

_**ChiVall**__**: Well...things went pretty good between Max and Maya, but as you read, she still sort of went crazy! But I could see a lot of normal people freaking out at something like that, so yeah. Plus, Maya is really close with her bro.**_

_**BookWorm2011**__**: Thanks!**_

_**zroc**__**: well, more suspense for ya! Until the next chap, since it's the last one.**_

_**Frostdawn**__**: hahaha next chaps the last. Hope the **__**ending**__** is more satisfying.**_

_**maximumgirl23306**__**: I'm actually **__**glad you asked that, **_**_because I want to do a sequel, but just add it on to this story. But it would be in Angel's POV and her love interest...and it would be less about FAX since they will be together already, but still some funny good stuff. Just a continuation of all the relationships hinted at and started in this fanfic, does that sound at all interesting? I'll probably write it anyway, haha._**

**_xxsmileyme123xx_****_: Yeah! I think you're an awesome writer and I love your story ideas! They're so original! _**

**_desperatelyobvio_****_: Well in middle school he wasn't really mean to her, it was just in high school when he started to get all popular and stuff. Fang partly went out with Lissa freshman year to make Max jealous, but also because Lissa is pretty popular. He also kind of liked her, cause she was nice and all. And I read your review after I wrote this chapter so I thought it was funny that you wanted him to do things on his own, instead of "the plan." I sort of made him take charge in this chap. But he totally does next chapter. And Dang! How come the stupid operation won't come up? Ugh that is so annoying. Here, I'm going to try again. It's: Operation MR. L.I.C.- as in Maximum Ride's Lovelife Inept Challenge. It's just an acronym._**

**_Guestgirl:_****_ Thanks! Next chaps the last!_**


	20. It's Now or Never

**PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END! IT'S IMPORTANT! **

_Maximum Ride: It's My Life_

_Chapter 20_

_It's Now or Never_

"All the leaves are brown, and the sky is gray," sings Nudge, "California feelin' on a winters day."

"Maybe you wouldn't be so cold if you'd worn some warmer clothes," I scoff, "Plus, there aren't any leaves anywhere, and the sky is clear."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Once I put on snow pants I'll be fine. I was just trying to lighten the mood- you've been brooding all weekend."

"I have not been brooding!" I protest before hunching over in the car seat…brooding.

"Yeah, you have. Ever since you turned Nick down-"

"I didn't turn him down- nothing even happened," I grumble.

"He confessed to you! That's not nothing!"

"Guys, seriously," complained Tess from the drivers seat, "You've been arguing about this for two days. Give it up already."

I huff, turning around in my seat so I'm facing the right side window. After I left the hospital, Nudge- who heard from Ella, who heard from Iggy- bombarded me with questions on what happened between Fang and I. I, begrudgingly, told her, and she hasn't stopped pestering me since.

"We're here," Tess announced, pulling into the snowing parking lot. We found a spot near the lodge since we had gotten there before it even opened (my idea of course, so we could get a good day in, although Nudge complained about having to wake up early every minute we weren't arguing about my non-love-life). Iggy and Ella pulled up next to us, parking, and Holden sat in the passenger seat of our car- although he hadn't said much the whole time since Nudge and I had been arguing.

During one of our quarrels yesterday, Nudge had let it slip that she was planning on getting Fang and the gang up here- and proceeded to complain that there was no way he would come now since I 'turned him down.' But seriously, how could I turn him down? He didn't even ask me anything.

"Max, when a guy tells you he's in love with you, you don't try to convince him otherwise!" Says Nudge. Tess groans as she hops out of the truck, heading to the back to start handing out snow gear.

I ignore Nudge, since this is the _fifth_ time she's said that. "We should strap up here, since the mountain's not open yet. Then we can go straight to the lift when it does." I say, after all, I did come here to snowboard. _Not_ to relive conversations that I might maybe regret sort of.

I grab my snow pants from my duffle bag in the truck bed, putting them on over my long johns as Nudge says, "You are totally avoiding this conversation. Just admit that you wish you could re-do that conversation! We all know you like him already."

I glare at her, "Well now everyone does," I say, gesturing to Iggy and Holden who have started to strap on their ski boots. Even though I'm pretty sure they knew too- well, whatever.

"_Max_," she says meaningfully.

"Give it up Nudge- it doesn't matter anymore," I say exasperatedly, then mutter, "He's probably already given up anyway."

Nudge huffs. Then, looking to Iggy, she says, "Do _you_ think Nick would give up like that?"

Iggy holds up his hands in mock surrender, "Whoa, leave me out of this."

"Gahh! You guys are so frustrating! It's like I'm the only one who cares about this!" She exclaims heatedly.

"Calm down Nudge, of course we care. But Max made her choice already, and she has to live with it now," says Ella, slipping her feet into ski boots. Ella had given me the silent treatment after she found out about my fight with Fang. And she was _still_ giving me the silent treatment.

I roll my eyes, finishing up with the laces on my boots and pulling on my coat. Of course I cared, I just didn't want to think about it. I'd successfully blocked all my emotions concerning the matter as soon as I left the hospital. I mean, it just wasn't possible. Fang couldn't love me. Before the thing at the Psych clinic,we never even had a moment that could be described as anything _close_ to that.

Well, except for that one time during the history project with the pizza.

And then the fair.

Then the next day at school- twice.

…And the teacher workroom incident.

Oh, and the whole hospital thing when I saw Maya for the first time.

At my house when he brought me the history grades.

And the mall.

And the Halloween dance.

What the heck? Why am I thinking about all of that _now?_

"Stupid," I mutter under my breath. After all of us are ready, we each grab our respective snow sports and head up to the first lift on the mountain, which had started up already. Iggy and Ella get on the first chair, and I strap into my board while Tess and Holden take the next one. Then Nudge and I get on, still silent from earlier.

Once we get to the top, I take a minute to marvel at the simple beauty of the mountains. Although skateboarding and snowboarding are similar, the landscapes in which you do them are completely different.

Up here, it's all fresh mountain air. And since we're the first ones here today, the snow is untouched, sparkling fluffy powder, just begging to be carved into.

There's some nice Max poetry for you.

After Ella's taken some pictures, I strap on my other foot, lightening fast, and I'm the first one on the slope. My legs pump as I carve back and forth, floating over the soft powder on my first run of the season.

I don't hear her, but I know Nudge is behind me. Despite the fact that she ski's and I snowboard, we've always been mountain partners and we have a system all worked out. When I'm snowboarding, I can forget everything else.

* * *

I'm still on a snowboard high as I board right up to the lodge entrance where I'm supposed to meet the others for lunch. Nudge went in earlier to use the bathroom, and I chose to stick it out for one more run. Tess and Holden ski up to us and step out of their ski's, propping them up next to my board on the racks by us.

"Let's go get a table- Nudge is already inside and Iggy and Ella can probably find us," I say. Now that it's lunch time, the mountain is buzzing with people. Most of the powder is gone on the main runs, but I know I can find some more after lunch if I stay in the trees.

As we enter the lodge and go up the stairs to the cafeteria, I turn my head to look out the window beside us. It's a nice day; the sun is shining, the air cool enough to wear a comfortable coat. These are the thoughts going through my head when I run straight into someone, knocking me off balance so that I have to grab the stair railing and take a step down.

And then I'm sure that the universe hates me- cause this cannot be happening.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Holden and Tess look at each other and then quickly slide past us and up to the second floor. Traitors. Although I guess I can't blame them for wanting to avoid the eminent tornado that's coming.

"Max," says Fang- and get this, he _grins._

I stare at him, bewildered. He was acting as if this _wasn't_ awkward as heck.

"What the heck are you doing here?" I say bluntly, unable to keep the rudeness from my tone. What can I say? It's a gift.

He just keeps on grinning stupidly at me, and now I'm really starting to get freaked out. Fang _never _smiles that much. I can't help but look behind me to make sure he isn't looking at someone else- or playing some dirty trick on me.

He's actually pretty close, and I try looking anywhere but his stupid grinning mouth. Because, you know, it's weird. But I guess that was a mistake too. His dark hair brushes over his forehead, touching his eyebrows and flipping slightly up, right over his dark eyes. Did I ever mention that I have a thing for brown eyes? Well I do. Don't tell anyone.

Wait, why am I telling you this?

Oh yeah, distraction.

"Just up here to get some skiing in," he says nonchalantly, his smile now turning to a smirk- and I'm glad, because that's something I'm much more used to. It's less unnerving, less distracting, "That's usually why people come up here."

I snort, remembering that of course he's a skier. Well, there's a reason we would never work out. Not that I have anything against skiers…it's just, well, there's a _reason_.

Okay, number three on my list of Why Fang and I Can Never be Together (I started it two days ago after his confession-thing):

Number one is that we fight too much.

Number two is that his mom is the principal, and I know she has something against me for some reason. Plus, who wants to date the principal's son?

And then number three: he's a skier.

Okay, I know I'm kind of reaching on that last one, but hey, I'll take what I can get.

"Ehem, well, uh, I gotta go eat- so bye," I say smoothly, but as I walk past him he says:

"Actually I'll see you up there. Rachet and Star and Angel found Nudge, so we're sitting with her. You're here with her, right?"

Dang it. Why universe? Why must you torment me so? I briefly consider denying that I came with Nudge, but I know that I'd sit with her regardless, so I just walk on past him. Sure enough, once I'm in the cafeteria I spot Nudge at a table with Star, Rachet, and Angel. I set the cooler I've been carrying down on the table, catching the attention of its attendants.

"Hey Max!" Says Angel cheerfully. I wonder if Fang told her about the argument, but even if he didn't, she probably knows somehow anyways. She looks oddly cheerful, knowing that she was gunning for me with Fang the whole time.

Rachet gives a 'sup' nod, and Star smiles. I notice that she looks happier than she has in a long time. Actually now that I think about it, ever since they started dating, Rachet and Star have been unnaturally happy.

It's kind of revolting.

I know, I'm such a romantic.

"Nick's here too," says Nudge (and is that smugness I sense?), "He's getting their cooler from downstairs.

"I know," I say cooly, giving no reaction just to bug her. She shrugs and pats the seat next to her. I sit down, carefully. Something's definitely up . I start pulling out some sandwiches and water bottles, taking one for myself.

"Thanks for waiting for us at the meeting point," says Ella sarcastically as she comes up with Iggy.

"Eh, I knew you would find us," I say, waving the hand holding my sandwich. Ella plops down next to Star, Iggy sitting beside her and reaching for a sandwich. I glance towards the stairs and see that Fang has returned, so I try not to watch him as he makes his way over to us with the cooler.

"Here we are guys," he says, and unzips the bag to hand things out. Almost too casually, he sits beside me- and that's when I realize that it's the only open seat. Those sneaky bastards, they did that on purpose. Either that or no one wants to sit by me. Both choices suck.

"They started playing music outside," Fang says to me as everyone else turns back to their own conversations.

"Oh, huh," I say.

"Yeah," he continues, "They're playing it on the loud speakers."

Why is he talking so much?

"That is mucho interesting," I say flatly.

"What kind of music do you like?" He asks suddenly, and I wish Nudge would help me out so that I don't have to talk to him. Yeah, as if.

"All kinds," I say, shoving my sandwich in my mouth so I don't have to say anything else.

"That's cool," he says, taking a drink of his own water bottle.

That's cool? That's _cool_? Since when does Fang think anything I do is cool? All this niceness is getting awkward. Huh, you don't hear that everyday. We sit in silence for the rest of lunch time, with me sometimes honing in on the others' conversations. Finally everyone finishes, and I jump up eagerly.

"Welp, let's go catch some powder!" I say cheerily. I can finally get away from the awkwardness that is myself around Fang right now. I just wish he would say something mean to me, just so I could give a snappy retort and we could go back to normal.

"Actually, it's kind of hard to keep up with you Max, and I think I've had my fill of powder since that's all we've been doing this morning," says Nudge- and I think: There's no such thing as too much powder! "So I'm going to go with Angel," Nudge finishes.

"What?" I say, startled, "But you're my skier buddy, "No offense Angel," she smiles, "Plus, shouldn't she go with Fang- you know- cause he's her _brother_?"

"I just want some girl bonding time for a change," says Nudge, shrugging her shoulders.

"_I'm_ a girl," I say pointedly.

"To each their own," Nudge says, smiling cheekily, "C'mon Angel, lets go hit the slopes. There's some cat tracks I wanna check out," her and Angel walk past a stunned me.

"Don't worry Max, you won't be alone," she smiles angelically, "You and Fang can be partners."

I stare at her, and then look at Fang, hoping he'll protest. He doesn't.

"Whatever," I say, grabbing our cooler forcefully, "I don't need a partner anyways." And with that I head down to the locker area, returning the cooler and replacing my snow gear. I hear a shuffle and look across the room to see Fang doing the same at a separate locker.

I huff to myself and head to the door of the lodge, stepping out into the music filled air and grabbing my snowboard. I turn to go, halted by Fang next to me, holding his ski's.

"So, where to first?" He asks.

"Uh, I don't know, we're not partners so go wherever you want," I say, annoyed.

"Why not?" He asks, flipping his hair to the side. Why couldn't he just put his hat on already so his hair wasn't distra- being annoyingly annoying.

I know, I have a way with words.

"Why not what?" I ask.

"Why can't we be partners?" He asks, and I have to reassure myself in my head that he's talking about skiing- and _just_ skiing. I mean, what else could he be talking about? Haha.

Ha.

I try to shrug nonchalantly, "I don't see a need," I say.

"Actually, there's a lot of people on the mountain today, so they aren't allowing single riders. You'll probably end up with some random guy on the lift."

I grumble something to myself. Cause if there's something I hate, it's riding with random strangers who you can never be sure actually _know_ how to get off the lift. You never know when you're going to end up getting fallen on and creating a drop off block.

"What was that?" He says, and I'm pretty sure he heard me and is just trying to be smug.

"Fine," I say again, louder, and then I start walking. If we're stuck together, then I'm in charge. I get in line strapping in one foot to my board as he slides up next to me. We wait in silence for a few minutes before we get on the lift. The one good thing about being with Fang, is that I know he can ski. This isn't the first time we've been at the mountain at the same time.

_Flashback- Freshman Year- School Ski Night_

_I meet Tess at the bottom of the mountain as I carve right up next to her,_

_"__Hey," I say, breathless from my tenth run in a row. That last one was sweet, cause I landed an air I'd been trying to nail. _

_"__Max!" She exclaims, "Perfect timing," she gestures to Iggy and Fang behind her, who I've just noticed there. That's a first._

_"__We're gonna race and we need a ref. Can you follow behind us to see who wins?"_

_"__Sure," I say, grinning. Tess is a good skier, so watching her beat Fang will be nice. Maybe if I'm lucky he'll hit a tree and get knocked out. _

_Hey, I'm not a violent person, okay?_

_Okay, well maybe I am._

_Tess and I ride up together, the guys in the chair behind us. _

_"__I can't wait for you to kick their butts," I say._

_"__Don't underestimate them," says Tess teasingly, "They're actually quite commendable skiers."_

_I can't really reply to that since I haven't see them ski yet. But someone who's a jerk face like him can't be that good, can he?_

_I roll my eyes in reply, and then I spot her ski's, and they look different from the one's she rented. Must've gotten switched with someone else's. I wonder if she's noticed…?_

_Just then, my train of thought is cut off by the drop off point, where Tess and I slide off the chair and over to the edge of the mountain. I strap in my right foot so I'm ready to ride. Iggy and Fang come up from behind us, sliding next to Tess._

_"__Okay, you be the starter," says Tess._

_"__Okay," I say, "Ready, set, go!"_

_The three of them take off, and I follow behind, watching as they stay pretty evenly matched. I grin as I see Tess start to pull ahead a few feet, but notice that Fang and Iggy are speeding up too. Suddenly, when they're all even again, Tess catches an edge or something, tripping her ski's up and face planting into a harmful looking roll. Her ski's come off, as well as one of her gloves- yard sale style. Neither Iggy nor Fang look back, and I realize they must've not heard her over the wind in their ears._

_I pull up next to Tess when I realize she hasn't moved from her position, hopping up a few yards from where I passed her. And my heart goes to my throat._

_She's crying._

_If there's one thing different about Tess Pierce, it's that she _never_ cries. _Ever.

_So I know something is wrong. _

_"__Tess, Tess what's wrong?" I say fearfully._

_"__My arm," she cries out, "Something's wrong with my arm!"_

_"__Can you move?" I ask. She tries but then cries out in pain, shaking her head._

_"__Okay, I'll be right back," I say, "Don't move, I'm going to go get help." _

_She continues to sniffle and I get off my knees, ready to start going again._

_"__Max!" I hear someone yell, and I look over to see Nudge on the chair lift, "What's wrong?"_

_"__It's Tess!" I shout back, "I'm getting help! Come stay with her when you get off the lift!"_

_And with that I shoot down the mountain on my board, faster than I've ever gone before. If there's anything that worries me most, it's my friends safety. Iggy and Fang are at the bottom of the mountain, just standing there._

_"__Who won?" Fang asks as I ride by. Suddenly, I'm infuriated. What an idiot! He's worried about who won, while Tess is up on the mountain, hurt? My emblazoned mind skips over the fact that he probably doesn't know she's hurt._

_So I yell back, "She's hurt, you idiot!" And continue on my way._

_My speed allows me to pull up right at the door to the employees lodge, and I get there just as a ski patrol uniformed man steps out._

_"__My friend!" I say breathlessly, "She's on the mountain- she hurt her arm, she can't move."_

_He glances up at the mountain and then nods at me._

_"__I'll get a medic."_

_My mission accomplished, I start running back to the base of the mountain- though I'm not really sure what I'm going to do. I see a snowmobile pulling a sled behind it go up the mountain face, towards where Nudge is waiting with Tess. After they get her on the stretcher, I start running to the medic lodge ( which is no small feat when one is wearing snowboard boots- let me tell you) , and by the time I get there, Tess is already inside._

_I run up to the bed table she's on, "Are you okay?" I ask worriedly. She nods, and I notice she isn't crying anymore._

_"__Her shoulder's been dislocated," says the medic- a female- and I just stare at her._

_"__It means she's going to be okay. We just have to pop it back into place. It will hurt, but she'll be fine."_

_I nod, relieved. _

_"__Max, go wait outside with Nudge," Tess says to me._

_"__What? Why? Don't you want someone here with you while they pop it back in?"_

_She shakes her head, "I don't want you guys watching. I know how you get, Max. You're too overprotective to watch me in pain."_

_"__But…I don't want to leave you hear alone," I say._

_"__Max," she says firmly, but then her voice softens, "I'm not dying, Max. How about this- why don't you go beat Fang for me?"_

_I look at her, startled, but then I smirk, "I've always wanted permission to beat him up," I say._

_Tess laughs, "No, Max. I mean go challenge him to a race and beat him for me. I know you can do it."_

_"__Of course I can," I huff, "I'm faster than everyone here," I boast._

_She smiles, "I'll be here to have a victory party with you when you return."_

_"__Okedokie," I say. I'm actually glad to have something to do for Tess. I'm usually pretty useless when things like this happen._

_I stride back to the lift confidently. But although I know I'm fast, I'm actually pretty nervous about racing him. I mean, what if he _is_ really fast, or I face plant, or something? I shake my head. No. I've got this._

_Iggy and Fang are walking in my direction, and as I get closer to them I point to Fang and say, "You, me, mountain. Now. We're racing."_

_Fang and Iggy look at each other, and then Fang shrugs. They both turn to walk with me, and Iggy says he'll wait at the bottom to be ref. I briefly thank goodness that I opted to go behind them for the other race, otherwise I couldn't have helped Tess. _

_Fang and I ride up to the top in separate chairs, and I strap up once I get to the there. We both pull up to the edge silently, and my heart is racing unexpectedly fast. I can do this. I can do this._

_"__Ready?" I ask._

_"__Set," he says, facing forward._

_My heart pounds._

_"__Go!" I shout, and we both take off. We're pretty even at the first, but my mind strays to Tess, as well as my adrenaline and competitiveness kicking in. In one smooth motion, I pull ahead in front of him, pointing my board straight and flying down the mountain at mock speed._

_"__What the-" I hear from behind me, and ten seconds later I carve sharply at the bottom, coming to a stop. I look up to see Fang come skiing up to me, about ten feet behind. I can't help but grin like an idiot. That was awesome- I _won_._

_I mean, not that I'm surprised. _

_"__Wow," says Fang, "I've never been beaten by a snowboarder before."_

_I just smile stupidly, still on a first place high. Although I do briefly wonder if he's ever even _raced_ a snowboarder besides me, but whatever._

_I won._

_Man, I rock._

_End Flashback._

When we get off the lift, I strap in as quick as I can (which is pretty darn fast cause I'm just awesome like that), and rush off down the mountain. I go to under the chair lift, between the trees where there's fresh powder. Not many people go there because it's more difficult to ride because of the trees. I spot Nudge and Angel in a chair above me, and stop on my heels to wave at them. They wave back, and I'm just about to start boarding again, when a wave of snow suddenly sprays me from behind, startling me and sending me face first into the snow. My momentum carries me forward, causing me to do several summersaults before coming to a halt.

My fall has knocked my bindings loose, and the spaces are filled up with snow, as well as my goggles and helmet. I groan, but am cut off form maniacal laughter behind me.

I turn.

"What the freak, Fang?! I could've been hurt!" I screech, pulling my helmet off and shaking the snow out of my hair.

"Whatever," he scoffs, "It's powder. You're fine."

And I am fine- for the most part. My prides hurt a little bit.

"Yeah, okay, but my bindings are full of snow! I have to take them off and rest rap them now- do you have any idea what a pain in the butt that is?" I glower at him.

"One of the many downsides to being a snowboarder," he says, shrugging. Something feels oddly familiar about this situation, and I realize that it's because we're arguing. I mean, he was being all weirdly nice before, why the heck the sudden change?

"You suck!" I say, sitting down in the snow and removing my snowboard from off my feet.

"Come on," he says, "You're being a wimp." He takes a seat next to me and I growl at his close proximity. Maybe I'll just punch him in the face.

"And your a freaking jerk face," I yell, sliding my snowboard free of my booted feet and next to me, where I keep it from taking off by itself down the mountain with my left hand.

"Yeah, I know," he says, and I start, surprised at his admission.

I turn to my face to stare at him just as his mouth presses against mine.

Whoa.

_Whoa._

My heart stops, and I feel his lips brushing against mine softly, desperately- yet, almost questioningly.

And I have no freaking idea what the heck is going on- except for one thing.

Fang Walker is kissing me.

And it feels like freaking heaven.

Slowly, I feel myself start to respond, just as my mind short circuits. His mouth moves more boldly against mine at my response, and a shiver runs down my spine.

And we're kissing.

And kissing.

I start to lift my gloved left hand to his face to get a better angle, but then I realize…

Oh. My left hand.

The one that was supposed to be keeping my snowboard from going down the mountain without me.

I tear my lips from his, emitting a, "Crap!" As I see my board racing down the mountain at top speed, boarder less.

"I've got it," Fang says from beside me. And before I can even look over he's started down the mountain after it, polls pushing as he goes.

I stare for a few seconds, marveling at what just happened. And then I grab my helmet, running down the mountain after him and my runaway board.

* * *

**A Brief look into Nudges POV of the situation:**

Angel and I wave to Max. I see Fang come up behind her, and he pulls sideways, stopping abruptly. This sends a giant spray of snow into a startled Max, who topples over, summersaulting to a stop.

Aaaaand we're back to square one. I sigh. And he was doing so well. I guess it could only last so long.

The two immediately start up into some sort of argument, and Angel laughs beside me. I can't help but join in. I mean, it's either laugh or cry at my matchmaking failure. As we pass them fully, I can still hear them arguing behind me, but I face forward.

Then, silence.

Wait, what-

"Oh my gosh," exclaims Angel from beside me, and she's turned around in her seat, looking back behind us. We're almost to the drop off, but I glance back to see something that frankly would have caused me to wet my pants- had I needed to go.

Hey, you'd feel the same way if you saw what I saw.

"Dang, I wish I had a camera," I say, watching Nick and Max kiss. And then I realize something.

"Oh my gosh! They're kissing!" I exclaim.

"Well duh," says Angel.

"No- I mean- She hasn't punched him yet!"

"Well who's to say she wasn't the one who kissed him?" Questions Angel.

"Trust me, I'm an expert at these things. He kissed her," I say as we get off the chair lift.

"Come on," I say, "I have my phone with me. Maybe if we get there soon enough we can get that picture."

Angel laughs and we start down the mountain, but then halt at the scene before us. Again.

From out of the tree's comes Nick at mock speed, and then a few seconds later, Max running after him.

Dang- she must be a bad kisser if she got that kind of reaction.

"Woa, looks like Max lost her snowboard," says Angel from beside me. I look to where her finger's pointing and sure enough, there's her snowboard- manless. I then realize that Nick is chasing after it.

"Oh," I say out loud, "That makes more sense."

Angel looks at me curiously, "What were _you_ thinking?"

"Oh, nothing," I say, waving my hand dismissively, "Nothing at all."

* * *

**And back to Max.**

Fang is waiting at the bottom of the mountain when I finally reach him, breathless from running. By the way, if you ever need a serious workout, try running down a mountain in snowboard boots. Just saying.

He's holding my snowboard in one hand, and his ski's in the other. We face each other, staring.

"Uhm, thanks," I say, reaching for my snowboard. During my run down the mountain, I decided I didn't have any idea what to say to Fang about, our, er, kiss.

Fang takes a step back with my snowboard, not allowing me to have it.

"I know you say we fight too much, so I've been trying to be nicer to you all day," says Fang, "But honestly, I enjoy our arguments. You're the only girl I do that with- fight, that is."

"Gee, I'm honored," I try saying sarcastically, but it comes out more softly, matter-of-factly. The truth is, I like our quarrels too- somewhat. At least, their a lot better than the civility he's been showing to me all day.

"Max," he says, bending to set both my snowboard and his ski's down. He takes a step closer to me, and for some reason my feet won't let me move away.

In the background, music is still spewing from the loud speakers. I vaguely recognize the song- Bon Jovi.

"It's My Life," I think it's called.

Fang and I are closer now that he's moved. Only about a foot away from me, staring intently.

"Er, hi," I say, then curse myself for my lack of words in this situation. I mean, I _always_ know what to say. Why isn'y my brain working?

"Max," he repeats, then he sighs, pulling off his hat and running a gloved hand through his hair, "I was serious- about what I said on Saturday. When I said I loved you, I meant it. I still do."

I gulp nervously. "Uh…"

I'm still at a loss for words, but luckily he continues,

"The first time I fell in love with you, was in the eighth grade," he says, "I know I never told you- but that's how it was. Once we got into high school, I just assumed you'd always be by my side- even if I changed. And I know I did- I wanted to be cool, I wanted people to like me," his voice gets quiet for a moment, "I wanted you to continue to like me- even if there were a bunch of other guys around. But by trying to keep you, I know I lost you- and I'm sorry."

There's a long pause in which I try to process what he's said.

"Arguing with you was the highlight of my day," he says, laughing a bit, "It was the only interaction we ever had, and I lived for it. I thought you hated me for it. I knew you did, but I couldn't help myself. There's not one day that I haven't thought about you. I know it's crazy, but it's true."

Max," he says, taking a step forward, and takes my hands in his. I feel him looking at me until I raise my gaze from the ground, locking eyes with him.

"You're an idiot," is all I say.

He looks at me hopefully.

I sigh, turning my head away again. If I'm being completely honest, his confession- both Saturday's and today's- was exactly what I wanted to hear. It was what I needed to hear. And as he spoke, I couldn't summon one sarcastic comment from my repertoire.

And when that happens, you know it's serious.

I don't know what to say, and so I lean forward, and brush my lips against his in a soft kiss.

"I love…" I start, "…fighting with you, too."

He stares at me for a second, so I say, "If I we go out, you have to promise that we can keep fighting."

His face splits into a Fang smirk, and I finally admit to myself that it makes my heart beat wildly every time that he does that.

I'm never going to say that again, by the way.

And then, we share our third kiss. And I won't go on about how romantic it was, or how a _certain_ pair of people were squealing and cheering from somewhere off to the side. I won't even mention the fact that I didn't remember we were around a bunch of people, either.

Well, I guess I just did, but whatever.

Anyways, here's my point:

They say there's an end to every story, but that doesn't necessarily mean that a story ends there. Take my story for example. To you, this story ends here. But it doesn't- not really. I guess this kind of concludes what I was wanting to tell you though, so I'll just leave you with this:

My name is Maximum Ride.

I have dirty blondish hair (somewhere around there).

Brown eyes.

A kick-butt attitude- if I do say so myself.

Some people might think that could be a problem for me, but actually, it's gotten me to where I am today. And honestly, it's pretty freaking great. I wouldn't want to be any where else.

After all,

It's My Life.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **

**Hey guys! Wow...i can't believe it's finished! I hope you all liked the conclusion! I thought it was really fun to write. Anyways, the important thing I wanted to tell you is that I'm having a sort of contest thing. So here it is:**

**Every single flashback in this story actually happened to me. 100% true (it's all in my journal). All except one. In your comments- along with your thoughts on the story- I want you to guess which flashback is the fake one. I will personally PM every person who guesses to tell them whether or not they are correct and which one it was if they were wrong. I will also make a list of everyone who comments on this chapter and send them the summary of my next MR fanfic. That story will be released August 11, since I want to get it all written before then in order to do consistent updating without worries. **

**For those of you wondering if there will be a sequel to this story, my answer is yes. Although, it will focus a lot more on the other couples in the story, and will be told mainly in the POV of Angel. It will be the second half of the school year for them, and will include some romance for Angel as well. I don't know if that interests you, but I will write it regardless because it adds more insight to the story and it's other characters. The sequel will be added to this story, instead of being it's own, just because I want to keep everything all together. I'm not sure when I'll start the sequel though, since my other MR fanfic I mentioned above will be my top priority.**

**If you have any questions, about this story or any of my future ones or whatever, post them in your Review (or PM me if you want to- but review is preferred so other people can see the questions too in case they are wondering). You guys are awesome and thanks so much for reading my story!**

**Love, Tatertotrocks**

* * *

_**Reviews:**_

**_Guestgirl: Haha thanks! I will go through later and edit all the chapters...I haven't done it for any of them so far haha._**

**_ZammieandPercabeth4ever: Haha! I know how that is, thanks!_**

**_Taywoodr: I hope this conclusion satisfied your worries! :)_**

**_FAXalltheway: I'm glad you think that, cause I was like, it'd be weird if she did that, haha_**

**_ChiVall: :) Hope you liked it_**

**_Biv303: Sorry it's a day late! I needed a good build up and I wanted to write the story well. And thank you!_**

**_RainbowReads: Yeah! Fanfic crashed randomely and I was annoyed haha. I'm glad you appreciated the confession things, cause that's what I was going for when I wrote it. I hope you liked this chap! The last bit was my fave to write_**

**_ .glader: Haha, he didn't give up! No tears needed!:)_**

**_Random Child: haha I'm glad you agree. Plus I wanted ch.20 to be epic haha_**

**_zroc: Haha! Loved that review. Hope you liked ch. 20 too:)_**

**_HARMZ: Thanks! The story's ended, but I hope you'll read the next one too:)_**

**_xxsmileyme123xx: Haha thanks for being patient! I know this was a day late..._**

**_ThreeDaysOtaku: Well, I was trying to make it a cliffhanger, haha. But it's all cleared up now!;)_**

**_hi (guest): Hahahahah! I got your threat right before I posted this. Hope it were pleasing:)_**


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